Massive Fraud and Manipulation Uncovered in Electrical General Deptt, Danapur Division of ECR

Historically, no railway tender has ever been awarded to a contractor treating OHE mast foundations as a valid “Civil Engineering” credential, nor has this specific firm ever secured a civil contract based on such paperwork in the past

The reports indicate that the DRM, Danapur Division, is pressuring the TC members to finalize the tender prematurely—this raises a critical question: why is the DRM in such a hurry, and who is exerting pressure on him from above?

A major fraud and administrative manipulation is currently unfolding in the Electrical (General) Department of the Danapur Division, East Central Railway (#ECR). Officials are allegedly acting in connivance with a defaulting bidder to qualify a technically ineligible firm for #Tender No. EL-5-DNR-OPEN-01-26-27, which opened on May 20, 2026, at 12:00 hrs. This composite tender is valued at ₹15,75,72,423/- (comprising an Electrical (General) component of ₹10,11,62,182/-, a Civil Engineering component of ₹5,21,53,841/-, and an S&T component of ₹42,56,399/-).

As per the provisions of GCC-2022 and the Notice Inviting Tender (#NIT) documents, Annexure VA must be submitted on behalf of a Joint Venture (JV) firm by each of its constituent members. However, this has not been submitted in accordance with the prescribed tender format. The name of the tendering JV firm is missing from the annexure, and the #bidder signed the document as a “Partner” even though he is actually the “Proprietor” of the non-lead firm, M/s Prince Constructions. Despite these blatant discrepancies, the entire #Danapur Division team involved in the evaluation is adamant about accepting this invalid document. This directly violates Para 6.1 of GCC-2022, which explicitly states that Annexure VA must be submitted properly, failing which the bid shall be summarily rejected. (The submitted Form VA and the standard Railway format are both attached).

According to GCC-2022 rules governing Joint Ventures, a non-lead bidder must meet a minimum of 10% of the technical eligibility criteria for any single component of the tender to qualify. M/s Prince Constructions does not possess the requisite 10% credential for either Civil or Electrical works. Consequently, the formation of this JV is illegal and non-compliant. The details of the submitted works are outlined below (supporting documents attached):

(i) Agreement No. ECR/ECRC/Elect./2024/003 dated 19.03.2024 (Value: ₹5,34,79,018/-): This value was reached after an approximate variation/Non-Schedule (NS) increase of over 40% in the LT (Low Tension) segment compared to the original Letter of Award (LOA). The 33 KV cable work in this LOA amounts to only about ₹36 Lakhs, inclusive of variations.

(ii) Agreement No. EL/C/N/MHX/ETEN/15/17-18 dated 13.06.2018 (Value: ₹4,44,46,290/-): This includes a variation/NS of over 40% in the LT segment against the original LOA. The 33 KV cable work executed through NS was a meager ₹8 Lakhs. Furthermore, the original nomenclature of the work appears to have been tampered with to falsely project it as 33 KV work.

(iii) Agreement No. EL/50/DNR/OPEN/05/20/18-19 dated 12.02.2019 (Value: ₹3,46,43,166/-): This reflects a variation/NS of over 45% against the original LOA. The 33 KV VCB and CT/PT work introduced via NS totals only around ₹46 Lakhs. The core project is strictly limited to LT works and is completely unrelated to substations of 33 KV and above or underground/overhead cable laying at that voltage level. The original title of the work has also been altered from the LOA to showcase 33 KV credentials.

(iv) Agreement No. 29/M/EC/EW/39/2021 dated 08.12.2021 (Value: ₹1,39,64,242/-): This features an approximate variation/NS of over 40% in the LT part. The work contains roughly ₹40 Lakhs in civil engineering works, while the remaining balance consists entirely of 100% LT-related works.

The data above conclusively demonstrates that the non-lead member lacks any credentials that satisfy the “similar nature of work” requirement—specifically, the erection, testing, and commissioning of substations at or above 33 KV, or the laying of underground/overhead lines at or above 33 KV. Since the non-lead firm does not meet the 10% technical eligibility threshold for any component, the JV formation is illegal under #GCC-2022 rules. Members of the Tender Committee (#TC) are visibly bypassing procedures to favour the firm and render them eligible.

Furthermore, the provisional payment certificate submitted by the lead member of the JV is highly questionable. It only appends the #LOA without specifying the broken-down components of the executed work. Crucially, the document fails to verify whether the work has been completed or even substantially completed. Therefore, this paper cannot legally be accepted as a valid work completion credential.

In a blatant violation of established engineering principles, the committee is blurring the lines between distinct departments. It is an accepted rule that electrical and civil engineering works are evaluated separately. Here, the lead bidder has submitted credentials for civil engineering based on the foundation work of 25 KV OHE masts. This work involves nothing more than the concrete casting for Overhead Equipment (#OHE) masts under Traction Distribution (#TRD), which is fundamentally an integral part of electrical mast erection. Historically, no railway tender has ever been awarded to a contractor treating OHE mast foundations as a valid “Civil Engineering” credential, nor has this specific firm ever secured a civil contract based on such paperwork in the past.

According to reliable sources, M/s UBC Prince JV is employing illegal tactics and using all possible means to pressure the Tender Committee (TC) members into qualifying a technically ineligible bidder.

Furthermore, reports indicate that the DRM, Danapur Division, is also pressuring the TC members to finalize the tender prematurely. This raises a critical question: why is the DRM in such a hurry, and who is exerting pressure on him from above?

This matter warrants immediate intervention by the Railway Board Vigilance, and a high-level independent enquiry must be instituted without delay.