The Greater Chennai Corporation has changed its procurement guidelines for road refurbishment works in seven areas to allow contractors to lease equipment.
The company had requested mandatory ownership of equipment, such as a 4.5-metre paver, a central mixing plant, a static roller, a mini roller with a vibrating tandem roller, a tractor or bobcat vehicle and mechanical sprinklers for the seven refurbishment jobs on the road. Although they are small jobs costing between '8 and 15 lakhs per project', only smaller contractors below the class three level participate.
However, with the ownership restriction, only larger contractors would be eligible to participate. According to the contractors, this favored larger contractors. However, in a corrigendum, the company stated that contractors can lease static rollers, mini rollers, tractors and Bobcat vehicles.