Ahmedabad’s ₹400-crore street light tender has come under political scrutiny after Congress councillor Nirav Bakshi alleged that the five-year operation and maintenance contract could involve a scam of at least ₹100 crore and demanded that the tender be cancelled.
The tender covers the operation and maintenance of approximately 2.22 lakh street-light poles across the city. According to the report, Bakshi alleged that the tender had been issued for the sixth time after changes were repeatedly made to its conditions. He claimed that these changes could benefit a particular agency and restrict competition from other firms.
The allegations come as complaints about non-functioning street lights continue to be reported across Ahmedabad. Bakshi claimed that street lights were not working on between 70 and 80 roads, leaving several stretches without adequate illumination for extended periods. The report did not provide an official response from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to the allegations or confirm the number of affected roads independently.
Bakshi also questioned the technology requirements in the tender. He alleged that although agencies using more modern technologies were available in the market, the tender conditions had been altered in a way that could prevent those companies from participating. The specific eligibility clauses and technical specifications referred to in the allegation were not included in the supplied report.
The dispute places two separate issues before the civic administration: the immediate reliability of street-light services and the design of the contract intended to maintain them. A five-year maintenance agreement covering more than two lakh lights would determine how faults are reported, how quickly repairs are made and how the municipal corporation monitors the contractor’s performance. The supplied report, however, does not state the proposed service-level standards, penalty provisions, selection criteria or estimated annual cost under the tender.
The Congress councillor’s demand is for the entire tender process to be withdrawn. His allegation is not an established finding of financial wrongdoing, and the supplied report does not indicate that an investigation, audit or official inquiry has confirmed the claimed ₹100-crore loss. The report also does not mention whether the tender has been awarded, whether bids have been opened or whether the municipal corporation has issued a formal clarification.
The next material steps will be the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s response to the allegations, disclosure of the tender’s revised conditions and clarification on the status of the sixth tender process. These details will determine whether the objections concern the procurement procedure, the technical requirements, the estimated contract value or the delivery of street-light services across the city.
