Telangana High Court sets aside ASI’s Rs 5.6 Cr contract to PIQL

Hyderabad: In a major setback to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Telangana High Court on Wednesday set aside a Rs 5.61 crore contract awarded to Giopel Import Export Private Limited (PIQL) for digitalization of Estampages at ASI’s Mysuru unit. The court held that the said work order should be awarded to the next […]

Hyderabad: In a major setback to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Telangana High Court on Wednesday set aside a Rs 5.61 crore contract awarded to Giopel Import Export Private Limited (PIQL) for digitalization of Estampages at ASI’s Mysuru unit. The court held that the said work order should be awarded to the next eligible competitor.

Estampages are exact replicas of inscriptions copied from stone or copper plates onto paper using specialised ink. These are made by pressing wet paper onto the rock or metal face and wiping a specialised ink on it. The ASI about 70,000 estampages of Sanskrit and Dravidian languages spanning over 135 years.

The Mysuru unit of ASI had invited tenders for digitization of the Estampages preserved in the Office of the Director (Epigraphy). The ASI awarded the contract to PIQL in July this year for Rs.5,61,68,000.

The High Court while dealing with a petition filed by renowned photo journalist D Ravinder Reddy of Ravi Press Photo in the city, found that the ASI had flouted norms while awarding the contract to PIQL and declared the work order void.

Appearing on behalf of Ravinder Reddy, counsel Prem Kumar Pothina brought to the notice of the court that ASI officials, in order to favour PIQL, had flouted the procedure followed by government organisations and ignored genuine competitors.

He alleged that the ASI had awarded the contract to PIQL against the rule at an exorbitant price causing huge loss to the exchequer. The ASI, he said, awarded the contract for digitalization of 1 lakh estampages for Rs.5.61 crore, whereas, in the past it had invited tenders for similar work pertaining to 74,000 estampages for Rs.1.5 crore.

Prem Kumar stated that his client Ravinder Reddy, who is highly technically skilled, too had applied for the work and on November 2, 2021 delivered a physical demo of the work as required to be executed under the pre–qualification criteria. But he was not considered for the job and the work was awarded to PIQL, which has no previous experience.

Ravinder Reddy, speaking to Telangana Today, said he was happy with the High Court’s verdict and stated that justice had prevailed.

“I wanted to associate myself with the historical work. I can do justice to the work as I possess technical knowledge needed for such works. By cancelling the current contract, the government too can save Rs.3.5 crore,” he said.