Gail India signs MoU with Transparency International India for Integrity Pact with Contractors

Gail India Ltd on July 23, 2007, has announced that the Company has signed a Memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Transparency International India (TII) on 'Integrity Pact Programme' as a measure focused at enhancing operational transparency in its contracts and procurements process.

The pact was signed today by Dr. U D Choubey, CMD of the Company, and Admiral R H Tahiliani, former Chief of Naval Staff and the present chairman of TII. Present on the occasion were Shri M R Hingnikar, Director (HR), Shri R K Goel, Director (Finance), Shri Santosh Kumar, Director (Projects), Shri A K Purwaha, Director (Business Development), Shri B C Tripathi, Director (Marketing) and Shri Arvind Jadhav, CVO of the Company, along with other senior officials of the Company.

The Company is among the first few Indian corporates to introduce 'Integrity Pact' in procurement and contracts. Integrity Pact is a tool devised by TII worldwide to fight corruption in public procurement and thus to assist in improving the credibility of public procedures and administration. Under this MOU, the Company is committed to implement the Integrity Pact programme in all its major procurement activities.

Under the MoU, the Company (principal) will enter into a pact with those companies submitting a tender for a specific activity (the "bidders"). An undertaking will be given by the principal that its officials will not demand or accept any bribes, gifts, etc., with appropriate disciplinary or criminal sanctions in case of violation. A statement will be given by each bidder that it has not paid, and will not pay, any bribes. An undertaking will be given by each bidder to disclose all payments made in connection with the contract in question to anybody (including agents and other middlemen as well as family members, etc., of officials). The disclosure would be made either at time of tender submission or upon demand of the principal, especially when a suspicion of a violation by that bidder emerges. The explicit acceptance by each bidder that the no-bribery commitment and the disclosure obligation as well as the attendant sanctions remain in force for the winning bidder until the contract has been fully executed. Penalties for failure to implement IP - Officials are subject to penal action and bidders have to face cancellation of contract, forfeiture of bond, liquidated damages and blacklisting.

The Integrity Pact will form part of bid document and will come into effect from the moment bidders submit documents to the Company and would end after the complete execution of the contract to the satisfaction of both the contracting parties.

External Independent Monitors (EIMs) would oversee the entire bidding process from day one and resolve all disputes by any party as and when referred to them. The EIMs will be drawn from a panel of eminent personalities.

Source : Equity Bulls

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