BMC is paying too much for tree census in Aarey, alleges private company

With so much public attention on the fate of Aarey Milk Colonyrsquos green cover itrsquos not surprising that the BMC has for the first time decided to conduct a survey of the trees there While this is a long due move the corporation has run into criticism for the way it has awarded the tender for the surveyThe BMC estimates there are about five lakh trees spread across 14 sq km in Aarey ColonyTerracon Ecotech a private company offering ecologybased advisory services and turnkey solutions has alleged that not only has the civic body awarded the tender for the survey unfairly but it is also paying far more than it shouldBackgroundThis is the first time ever that the BMC has decided to carry out a survey of trees in Aarey Colony well known for its extensive woodland The BMC has in the past solely commissioned surveys of trees in the rest of the city mapping some 19 lakh trees spread across 603 sq km according to the 2008 tree censusThis year as well it had already hired private company SAAR IT Resources Pvt Ltd for a citywide survey excluding Aarey According to the tender it fixed Rs 99 per tree as the rate for the project which will amount to over Rs 2 crore The ongoing project will geotag the trees using GPS recording details such as height girth and life expectancyNow after the tender has already been awarded the BMC has decided to add Aarey Colony to the survey as well and has agreed to pay the same rate At Rs 99 per tree this will cost the corporation another Rs 495 lakh According to Terracon Ecotech however the cost should be far lower for Aarey Colony In fact the company claims it can do the same job for about 20 to 25 per cent less moneyAccording to officials from Terracon Ecotech a tree survey in Aarey will be far easier than in the rest of the city because the trees will be concentrated in a much smaller area according to the BMC there are around 5 lakh trees in the 14 sq km that contain Aarey Colony This will take less time and effort and does not justify such a high costThe company has already written to the municipal commissioner and the chairman of the Tree Authority objecting to the sanctioned cost of the Aarey tree census midday has a copy of the letter In the letter Terracon Ecotech has also questioned the way the Aarey project was awarded without holding a proper tender processThe company alleged that the BMC neither advertised nor issued any tender for this exercise depriving other qualified agencies of a fair chance A spokesperson from the company said ldquoWe believe that if the fair rate for undertaking a tree census for the city of Mumbai is Rs 990 as is currently being contracted by BMC then it should be at least 2025 lower for Aarey ColonyBut this would best be determined if there is competition through open tenderrdquo The official said Terracon Ecotech has over two decades of experience in similar projects across the country including the MiraBhayander Municipal Corporation VasaiVirar City Municipal Corporation Islampur Municipal Council etcldquoOur company was the only qualified responsive bidder for all four tree census tenders floated by the BMC in 2012 and 2013 and in the final tender we lost out to SAAR IT Resources Pvt Ltd which had no prior experience in tree census and had formed a consortium with Apex Agencies of Nagpur for technical supportrdquo added the spokespersonBMC SpeakldquoThe organisation that has been hired to keep a tab on the number of trees in Mumbai is the same one which has been entrusted with the responsibility of counting trees in Aarey Colony Hence there is no question of issuing a fresh tenderrdquo said Sitaram Kunte municipal commissioner