Gujarat Govt Speeds Up Tender Process, Cuts Validity to 90 Days

Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has taken a decision to prescribe maximum time limits at various levels for the tender approval process, with the objective of expediting development and construction works and preventing unnecessary delays in administrative procedures.

Under the existing system, a period of around 120 days was generally considered for completing the tender approval process. To ensure that works commence at the earliest, the Chief Minister has now introduced strict timelines for completing the process.

Accordingly, for tenders where there is no provision for pre-qualification of contractors and only a financial bid is involved, the entire process—from the field/ regional office level to the Secretariat and the Finance Department—will have to be completed within a maximum period of 51 days.

For tenders where pre-qualification of contractors is required and both technical and financial bids are involved, the entire process, including scrutiny at all levels, will have to be completed within a maximum period of 66 days.

The existing tender validity period of 120 days has also been reduced to 90 days.

Further, in cases where more than one tender has been received after giving wide publicity as prescribed under the rules, negotiations will have to be avoided except in unavoidable circumstances.

If negotiations become necessary, they will have to be completed at only one level, i.e. at the level of the competent authority. Negotiations at more than one level will not be permitted.

It has also been decided that if a proposal is not disposed of within the prescribed timeframe, the reasons for the delay will have to be recorded at the concerned level, and responsibility for the delay will be fixed on the concerned officer.

The decision further stipulates that the entire responsibility for delays caused by incomplete proposals will rest with the level from which the proposal was submitted.

The decisions taken are expected to make the approval process for infrastructure projects—including roads, bridges and government buildings—faster and more transparent across the state.

The streamlined process will also enable projects to commence within the stipulated timelines, allowing citizens to access public facilities and services at an earlier stage and thereby contributing to an improvement in the ease of living.

These details were shared by the State government in a formal communication. DeshGujarat