Two Bidders Challenge MCD Toll Tender in Delhi High Court Over Restrictive Criteria
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi's tender for upgrading to a barrierless toll collection system has been challenged in the Delhi High Court by two potential bidders who claim the eligibility criteria are too restrictive. Shiva Corporation and Skylark Infra Engineering have filed petitions against the civic body, targeting a specific clause that limits who can bid for the project.
The controversial clause requires bidders to have experience operating a minimum of '50% of total toll lanes or 122 toll lanes under a single contract for at least two years.' Potential bidders stated that they had flagged concerns regarding this restrictive requirement during a pre-bid meeting, but the criteria remained unchanged. Queries sent to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar regarding the court petitions did not elicit a response.
The municipal body's tender aims to engage a contractor for toll and environment compensation charge (ECC) collection at border points from specific commercial vehicles entering Delhi. Additionally, the selected contractor will be responsible for upgrading the existing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system to a Multi Lane Free Flow (MLFF) toll collection system. The proposed contract involves managing 154 toll plazas, which encompass 244 lanes across Delhi's borders.
Seeking a revision of the restrictive criteria, Shiva Corporation wrote a letter to the MCD highlighting past precedent. The company pointed out that in 2024, the civic body had issued a toll tender for Delhi's border entry points with similarly strict eligibility criteria. That tender resulted in only two companies qualifying to bid. Recognizing that this led to unfair competition, the MCD ultimately cancelled that previous tender.
The current legal challenge in the Delhi High Court seeks to force the MCD to revise its tender criteria to allow for fairer competition among potential operators. The outcome of the petitions could delay the implementation of the barrierless toll collection upgrade at the capital's 154 border toll plazas.
