The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a Government of India Public Sector Undertaking engaged in the creation of EV Charging Infrastructure in the country, has written to the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) highlighting shortcomings in the tender for setting up EV charging station at government-owned locations in Bengaluru urban district under BESCOM jurisdiction.
“We consider the availability of EV Charging Infrastructure to be the most critical factor in faster adoption of EVs in India so as to meet our national targets fixed for the period up to 2030. While we appreciate BESCOM’s initiatives to expeditiously establish the requisite infrastructure of EV charging stations, there are apparent glaring shortcomings in the present tender that are unsound on technical grounds and fail to inspire confidence in the prospective bidders on the objectivity of the selection process,” BECIL has said in the letter.
According to the letter, the notice mentions 24th May 2022 as the start date, the tender document was, however, published online on 27th May 2022 (evening time after 5:00pm) only.
“This shows that only one day was given to submit all bid clarification documents (28th May 2022). As this date also falls on the fourth Saturday of the month, which is not a working day in most parts of the country,” the letter reads.
A senior BESCOM official said that the date to apply for tender has been extended till June 17 as many prospective bidders had raised objections.
“The conditions set in the tender have been decided by the committee as per the provisions of government. The BECIL letter was received by senior officials and they have responded to it,” the official said.
As per the letter, as many as 31 tenders were published on the same day, which required close study and analysis for a prospective bidder to submit well-thought-out bid queries.
“A period of only 10 days from the date of online publishing of the tender online has been allowed for bidding for all the 31 districts, which is grossly inadequate, particularly keeping in view the fact that the prospective bidders had only one day to prepare for the pre-bid meeting,” the letter reads.
“BECIL strongly feels that such a haste will compromise the intended objectives, which are so important for the Prime Minister’s vision of EV infrastructure in the country and an important state like Karnataka,” the officer said in the letter.
BECIL has also highlighted that contrary to the government’s policy of giving a boost to the MSME sector and the start-ups, the tender documents do not provide any relaxations in technical qualifications.
“As you would know, the EV Charging Infrastructure is a newly formed industry that has attracted a number of startups. These startups are crucial for technological development and introducing innovative solutions in the sector,” the letter reads.
BECIL has also said that turnover requirements of the tender depart away from normal practice wherein Rs 9.08 crore turnover is asked for in any 2 of last preceding 5 years instead of the average turnover concept.
“Such a requirement handicaps the startup and MSME companies who are unlikely to meet these financial stipulations, as this industry is new and still in infancy,” the letter reads.
“We are constrained to mention that the present tender seriously violates many Governmental guidelines, both Central and the State, some of which have been highlighted,” BECIL said.