THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, Oct 31: BJP State Spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo has accused the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government of orchestrating another potential tender scam, alleging large-scale irregularities in the Building Construction Department (BCD).
According to Shah Deo, in Division No. 1 of the department, tender notices published both in newspapers and on official government portals do not disclose the estimated cost of the proposed works — a key detail that is normally mandatory under standard procurement norms.
Estimated Cost Missing from Tender Notices
“This omission is not a clerical error but a deliberate manipulation,” Shah Deo said, claiming that the estimated tender amount — a critical piece of information — is now being withheld from public notices.
He explained that contractors now learn the estimated cost only after purchasing the tender papers and the Bill of Quantities (BOQ). “Without knowing the project’s financial scale, bidders are forced to buy every tender document just to understand what they are bidding for,” he said.
Calling the practice unprecedented and unethical, Shah Deo argued that such opacity violates standard government procurement procedures. “As per established rules, the name of the work and the estimated expenditure must be clearly mentioned in the tender notice itself. But in Division 1, this key information has been intentionally omitted,” he added.
Allegations of Favouritism and Manipulation
The BJP leader alleged that this new system has been designed to benefit select contractors.
“There are allegations that department officials are unofficially sharing the estimated cost only with a few chosen contractors, who are then favoured during the bidding process,” Shah Deo said.
He further claimed that in some cases, contractors receive incomplete BOQs, while others receive detailed documents, giving them an unfair advantage. “This is a clear setup for manipulation,” he asserted.
‘New Scam Model’ in Online Tenders
Shah Deo pointed out that the tender process was made online to curb corruption in offline bids. However, he alleged that under the current regime, officials have found a new way to manipulate even online tenders.
“Earlier, corruption happened in offline tenders. Now, the Hemant government has invented a new method to exploit even the online system,” he said.
Calling the move a “dangerous precedent,” Shah Deo said that no other state in the country follows a practice where estimated tender values are omitted from notices — whether online or in print.
‘Another Major Scam in the Making’
The BJP spokesperson warned that these practices could soon result in another major scam similar to earlier corruption cases under the state government.
“This is a blatant violation of financial transparency and tender norms,” Shah Deo said. “Perhaps only in Jharkhand under the Hemant government can such manipulation occur so openly.”
He urged the Vigilance Department and the State Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to take suo motu cognizance of the issue and conduct a detailed probe into the Building Construction Department’s tendering process.
