The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to scrap a tender for six life-buoys or robotic water rescue vehicles with reported origins from Turkey. The vendor who won the bid was sourcing the boat-like floating devices from a firm based in the country, Maren Robotics.
Confirming the development, a senior BMC official said, “The tender was floated last year and the shortlisting of bidders took place between January and February. All the bidders had submitted details of their vendors in their quotation. Since India had good ties with Turkey back then, we went ahead to shortlist the vendor. However, owing to the recent tensions, we decided to take a relook at the tender and refloat it.”
Push for Make-in-India
Reiterating the absence of the Letter of Approval, BMC was within rights to cancel the tender with the supplier. A fresh tender will be released by the BMC. An official revealed that the body “will also be exploring whether it is possible to have the products manufactured by India-based firms to propagate the Make-in-India campaign,” hinting at the cost-effectiveness that may be increased.
As per the September 2024 tender, the floating rescue devices costed the BMC Rs 9.62 lakh per boat, pegged at Rs 64 lakh with taxes. Six such boats were used by the Mumbai Fire brigade for sea operations as each of them has a capacity of 200kg operating at 18kmph. As per Indian Express reports, several other civic bodies based in Mumbai have been using the buoys acquired from the Turkey-based firm.
As ties continue to sever with Turkey, following the Indo-Pak tensions, BMC reflects the status quo. This decision comes when Maharashtra is under the spell of heavy rainfall due to the early onset of Indian monsoon.