GS Scam Expose: Bureaucratic Dictate Overrides Elected Leaders: AMC Officials Issue Single ₹398-Crore Centralised Streetlight Tender Against Advice

AHMEDABAD — In a direct clash between elected representatives and municipal bureaucracy, officers of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) have ignored clear instructions from MPs, MLAs, and Standing Committee Chairman Kamlesh Patel by floating a single centralised ₹398.41-crore tender for citywide streetlight operation and maintenance. The decision to rely on a single agency rather than inviting separate zone-wise tenders across all seven administrative zones has sparked sharp political resentment inside the civic body.

The conflict stems from past operational failures that left large parts of the city in the dark. In January 2025, former contractor Citalum walked away after its contract expired, leaving AMC struggling to manage streetlights through temporary sub-contractors. To prevent similar single-point failures, elected leaders explicitly directed the administration to divide the streetlight maintenance work into seven independent zone-wise tenders, matching models successfully implemented in Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot.

Standing Committee Chief Vows Opposition Over Bureaucratic Arbitrariness

Standing Committee Chairman Kamlesh Patel openly expressed his dissatisfaction with civic officials for overriding public representatives' recommendations. Patel confirmed that MPs, MLAs, and civic panel members had jointly insisted on decentralised tendering to insulate the city if any contractor abandons operations midway.

Key aspects of the ongoing tussle:

• Elected Demand: Division of the contract into seven zone-wise tenders to ensure decentralised accountability and quick operational alternatives.

• Bureaucracy's Action: Release of a single centralised tender worth ₹398.41 crore covering the entire city.

• Failure of Past Attempts: Five previous tendering attempts failed to establish a permanent contractor following Citalum's exit in January 2025, forcing temporary sub-contracting arrangements.

• Rebuttal Plan: Standing Committee Chairman Kamlesh Patel declared that elected representatives will formally challenge the centralised tender when it comes before the committee for final approval.

Silence from Engineering Wing as Zone Models Work Elsewhere

When questioned on why the explicit instructions for seven zone-wise tenders were bypassed, Additional City Engineer of the Streetlight Department Mahendra Ninama stated that he had no information regarding the decision.

Nearby municipal corporations—including Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot—operate on zone-wise tender systems. Under those frameworks, if an agency in one zone stops functioning, alternative arrangements can be deployed immediately without disrupting the entire city's lighting network. Despite these precedents and repeated attempts to split the process into East and West divisions during earlier attempts, AMC officials reverted to a single citywide structure for the sixth attempt, setting up a confrontation with the Standing Committee.