Bihar’s urban development and housing department will introduce stricter verification of documents submitted by bidders before tenders are finalised, Urban Development Minister Nitish Mishra said on October 6, directing officials to fix responsibility for forged papers and other irregularities.
Mishra said every document submitted by bidders must be thoroughly examined and verified before a tender is awarded. The process, he said, must remain transparent, fair and accountable at every stage, with bidders declared successful or unsuccessful only after scrutiny of their documents.
The minister also addressed cases in which a successful bidder’s documents are found to be forged after a tender has been finalised. In such instances, action should be taken against the bidder under applicable law, he said. Officials and engineers involved in the tender process would also be examined to determine whether any lapse occurred during document verification or tender disposal.
If irregularities are established, disciplinary and legal action should be initiated against the officials found responsible, according to the minister’s directions. The department is expected to develop a system that verifies all necessary documents before the award of a contract, rather than relying primarily on complaints received after the process is complete.
The move places the document-verification stage at the centre of the department’s effort to reduce forged credentials, procedural complaints and irregularities in public tendering. It also links bidder scrutiny with accountability for the officials and engineers who process and evaluate tender documents.
Mishra said the department would ensure strict compliance with prescribed rules and procedures at every stage of tendering. Timely decisions, transparent procurement and clear accountability were identified as priorities of the government, in line with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s stated vision of transparent and accountable governance.
The department’s next step is to develop and implement the proposed verification system. The minister’s directions also require officials to examine responsibility in cases where forged documents or irregularities are identified after a tender has been completed.
