The Water Resources department has issued orders freezing the Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method adopted by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) for picking firms for carrying out projects.
The department, in a February 16 order, noted that the QCBS is ‘‘complicated, incomplete and attracted complaints from the public”. The KWA should immediately revert to the system prescribed by existing government orders and manuals for transparently floating tenders, it said.
The QCBS was adopted by KWA last year as a method that took into account not just the cost of services for selecting bidders but also the quality through a rigorous ranking system for the bidders. Under it, the contract need not go to the lowest price bid. The system was made mandatory for all tenders with a tender probable amount of contract (TPAC) of above ₹5 crore.
