Railways parking, catering contracts go with an e-tendering process

The Indian railways, in a major policy shift, bidding for parking, catering and parcel leasing, worth about Rs 3,000 crore a year has decided to do away with paper-based traditional tendering methods and will be assigned through an e-tendering process.

Besides, the contracts for getting space at rail premises for ATMs, advertisements and other publicity-related matters will also go online to bring about transparency and thus making deadlock for  unethical elements in the tendering process.

"There were complaints against the prevailing bidding system as the scope of formation of cartels and illegal interference in the bidding procedure to bag parking, catering and other contracts was always there," a senior Railway Ministry official told to media.

Till now such contracts were being awarded through the paper-based traditional tendering system which was against the grain of the government's "Digital India" mission.

All 17 railway zones and 70 divisions have been instructed to switch over to e-tendering mode for awarding these contracts, the official added.

Before deciding to go the whole hog, the Railways had undertaken a pilot project for parcel-leasing in the Delhi division and it was a successful venture.