As per standard norms and procedures, an evaluation committee was to be formed under NIDMC, the national identity card management centre, and supervised by the Home Ministry.
The government´s silence in the matter has led to speculations about this sensitive project, which involves protection of the identity of citizens.[break]
The government is also silent on how it proposes to secure the database after it did away with the specifications on database requirements on May 15. NIDMC also planned to incorporate the soon to be outdated 2003 model for biometric fingerprint requirements. This has given rise to the vulnerability of the database.
Asked how the government would now approach the project, a Home Ministry official said, "We are yet to form the evaluation committee", adding that internal evaluation was going on.
The question is how the government is going about evaluating such a national-level project in the absence of technical expertise at NIDMC.
As per Section 22 of the Public Procurement Act 2007, the tender bids have to be opened at the hour and place specified in the bid documents, on the same day the deadline for submission of bids expires. Section 23 of the procurement act states that the bids opened pursuant to Section 22 shall be submitted to the evaluation committee.
This means that no informal committee or channel can open the tender documents. That can be done by the appointed committee alone. But as of now NIDMC has not appointed or formed a formal evaluation committee, and this goes against the guidelines.
Meanwhile, the international bidders concerned are alleging foul play in the way the government is handling the project and voicing suspicion about the intentions of the officials concerned.
The NID tender had come under controversy following media reports that the specifications for the tenders suited only one or two companies. Altogether nine companies have submitted the tender bids.
A complaint against possible irregularities has been filed at the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), the anti-graft body.
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