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A ₹65 crore advertising tender by Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has sparked controversy, with several bidders alleging that the process lacks fairness and transparency. They claim the tender may have been designed to favour one particular company, raising questions about accountability in public contracts. After seven years, BMRCL
invited bids for advertising rights on 8,755 metro pillars across the city. However, participants say the 12-year contract period extendable by three years, is unusually long. They also argue that combining all existing and future metro corridors into one package limits competition and keeps smaller local firms out.
Evaluation Process Faced Criticism
The evaluation process has also faced criticism. Thirty marks have been allotted for a presentation before BMRCL officials, which bidders call "too subjective" and open to bias. Moreover, prior experience in metro-pillar advertising has been given extra weight in scoring, which they believe unfairly benefits a particular company. If these claims are valid, experts estimate that Namma Metro could lose around ₹25 crore a year, about ₹375 crore over 15 years, due to reduced competition.
Advertising as a Non-Fare Income
Since advertising is a major source of non-fare income, any loss could affect the Metro's ability to repay loans and expand its network. The issue also exposes governance weaknesses in BMRCL. Its Board of Directors consists only of government officials, with no independent members to provide external oversight, which raises doubts about whether the tender received adequate review from the board or audit committee.
Building of the Independent Committee
There's also uncertainty about which watchdogs, Lokayukta or Lokpal, can investigate such joint ventures. To maintain public trust, experts suggest that BMRCL appoint an independent committee to review the tender and address all complaints. If irregularities are found, the tender should be reissued to ensure a fair, transparent process that maximizes public revenue.
