The Bombay High Court has observed that Thane Municipal Corporation has unreasonably floated a tender for running pharmacies on a contract basis in Rajiv Gandhi Medical College and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa with a condition of having an annual turnover of Rs 120 crore or more for the past three years.
A Division Bench of Justice Gautam Patel and Justice Madhav Jamdar, after hearing the case, stayed the opening of financial bids, but have permitted for a technical bid.
The petition in the HC was filed by two people who have their medical shops in Kalwa and Navi Mumbai respectively, through Advocates Anant Vadgaonkar and Satish Ingale.
Petitioner Renuka Malvade and Dinesh Bhagnani challenged the tender, alleging that such discriminatory conditions were favourable to a few pharmacists only.
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Alleging discrimination, the petitioner said that if the tender conditions were adhered, only the pharmacists who are currently running medical shops in government /semi-government/ private hospitals, will be able to participate.
Another petition was filed by two different pharmacists who have a annual turnover of 20 lakhs and over, but cannot participate because the other condition that bidder should have 30 outlets in Mumbai or periphery cannot be met by most.
All the petitions mention or point towards “one-sided, so as to benefit certain terms so that most bidders would disqualify and the parties, who are to be favoured are helped.”
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