SELECTION OF - Planning Commission

1 [Name of Authority] SELECTION OF technical CONSULTANT MODEL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS [Government of India] Published by the Secretariat for PPP & Infrastructure Planning Commission Yojana Bhavan Parliament Street New Delhi-110 001 Second Edition: April 2014 Printed by Brijbasi Art Press Ltd. A-80-81, Sector-5, Noida 201 203 RFP for technical Consultant: ** Project iiiContents S. No. Contents Page No. Preface v Overview of the framework vii Guidelines of the Ministry of Finance xiii Model Request for Proposals 1 Disclaimer 3 Glossary 5 Invitation for Proposals 7 1 Introduction 9 2 Instructions to Applicants A. General B. Documents C. Preparation and Submission of Proposal D.

2 Evaluation Process E. Appointment of Consultant 13 13 20 22 29 31 3 Criteria for Evaluation 34 4 Fraud and corrupt practices 38 5 Pre-Proposal Conference 40 6 Miscellaneous 41 Schedules 43 1 Terms of Reference [Two laning/ Four laning] 45 2 Form of Agreement Annex-1: Terms of Reference Annex-2: Deployment of Personnel Annex-3: Estimate of Personnel Costs Annex-4: Approved Sub-Consultant(s) Annex-5: Cost of Services Annex-6: Payment Schedule Annex-7: Bank Guarantee for Performance Security 88 117 118 119 120 121 122 124 3 Guidance Note on Conflict of Interest 128 Request for Proposals pc/mrfp/tec/260314 iv Appendices 131 1 Appendix-I: technical Proposal 133 Form 1: Letter of Proposal 133 Form 2.

3 Particulars of the Applicant 136 Form 3: Statement of Legal Capacity 139 Form 4: Power of Attorney 140 Form 5: Financial Capacity of Applicant 142 Form 6: Particulars of Key Personnel 143 Form 7: Proposed Methodology and Work Plan 144 Form 8: Abstract of Eligible Assignments of the Applicant 145 Form 9: Abstract of Eligible Assignments of Key Personnel 146 Form 10: Eligible Assignments of Applicant 148 Form 11: Eligible Assignments of Key Personnel 149 Form 12: Curriculum Vitae (CV) of Professional Personnel 150 Form 13: Deployment of Personnel 152 Form 14: Survey and Field Investigations 153 Form 15: Proposal for Sub-Consultant(s) 154 2 Appendix-II: Financial Proposal 155 Form 1: Covering Letter 155 Form 2: Financial Proposal 156 Form 3: Estimate of Personnel Costs 160 3 Appendix-III: List of Bid-specific provisions 161 4 Appendix-IV: List of Project-specific provisions 162 Illustrative Schedules 165 1 Items to be included in the TOR 169 2 TOR for Feasibility Report: Electricity Distribution 171 3 TOR for Feasibility Report: Water Supply and Sewerage System 191 RFP for technical Consultant: ** Project vPreface The Eleventh Five Year Plan envisages a steep rise in investment, public and private, in the infrastructure sectors from Rs.

4 8,71,445 crore in the Tenth Five Year Plan to Rs. 20,56,150 crore in the Eleventh Plan. The share of private investment is expected to rise from Rs. 1,75,203 crore in the Tenth Plan to Rs. 6,19,591 crore in the Eleventh Plan, implying an increase of times. The justification for promoting private participation in infrastructure lies in its potential to improve the quality of service at competitive costs, besides attracting private capital for funding public projects. The success of this endeavour, however, is predicated on a policy and regulatory framework that provides a fair, transparent and competitive environment. The process of structuring Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) is complex and it is, therefore, necessary to rely on experienced consultants for procuring financial, legal and technical advice in formulating project proposals and bid documents for award and implementation of PPP projects in an efficient, transparent and fair manner.

5 A poorly structured PPP contract can easily compromise user interests by recovery of higher charges and provision of low quality services. It can also compromise the public exchequer in the form of costlier or uncompetitive bids as well as subsequent claims for additional payments or compensation. One of the key factors that would determine the quality of documents as well as the outcome of the bid process is the professional competence of the consultants engaged for a project. It is, therefore, important to follow a SELECTION process that would ensure appointment of qualified and experienced consultants. The international best practices for SELECTION of consultants rely on the four rules of transparency, fairness, cost-effectiveness and elimination of conflict of interest.

6 A transparent process eliminates doubt and arbitrariness, and is a pre-requisite to the participation of reputed firms, which may stay away if the SELECTION process is opaque. Fairness is achieved when all parties are treated equally, when they receive the same information at the same time, and are evaluated on the same criteria. Costs can be optimised by choosing the appropriate method for selecting consultants, , competitive bidding for lump sum contracts. The effort should be to minimise costs without compromising on quality. Imparting clarity to the criteria for SELECTION of consultants and specifying the scope of work precisely would also help reduce costs through the competitive process. Last but not the least, the SELECTION process should avoid both actual and perceived conflict of interests, which may include the participation of firms that may be involved in later stages of the project.

7 The General Financial Rules, 2005 and the Manual of Policies and Procedure for Employment of Consultants issued by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance constitute the framework that governs the SELECTION and employment of consultants. However, there was considerable divergence in the practices followed by different departments and statutory entities. A variety of technical , financial and other criteria were being used by the Project Authorities, and some of the qualification parameters appeared subjective and were, therefore, prone to disputes and controversy. A comprehensive review of the ongoing practices had, therefore, become necessary. Request for Proposals pc/mrfp/tec/260314 viThe present volume contains a model document which has been evolved after extensive consultations with the relevant ministries, stakeholders and experts.

8 It provides a ready-to-use Model Request for Proposals (RFP) for SELECTION of technical consultants. The Model RFP affords adequate flexibility for introducing project-specific modifications, as may be necessary for meeting the requirements in each case. The processes and procedures contained in the RFP conform to international best practices as well as the extant rules on this subject. The Model RFP was evolved by an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), chaired by Special Secretary (Expenditure), and was subsequently approved by the Empowered Sub-Committee of the Committee on Infrastructure under the chairmanship of Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission . The document has since been approved by the Finance Minister and notified by the Department of Expenditure for adoption by all ministries and autonomous bodies of the Central Government.

9 It would also serve as a best practice document for the State Governments to adopt. It is hoped that adoption of this document would enhance the possibilities of a fair, transparent and competitive SELECTION of consultants for delivery of successful PPP projects in infrastructure. (Gajendra Haldea) Adviser to Deputy Chairman May 25, 2009 Planning Commission RFP for technical Consultant: ** Project viiOverview of the framework Need for a standardised framework With a view to enabling a smooth transition from public sector projects to PPPs and for adoption of best practices, Government of India has recognized the critical role of standardizing documents and processes to be adopted for structuring and award of Public Private Partnership (PPP) concessions.

10 Standardised documents enable project authorities to save on the time and costs involved in structuring complex PPP projects. In addition, they afford protection to individual entities and officials against making errors and answering for them. Such standard documents typically lay down the norms, principles and parameters to be followed for PPP projects and enable project authorities to adopt them with considerable ease for meeting the specific requirements of individual projects. Need for Consultants The process of structuring PPPs is complex and the requisite expertise does not normally exist within the government. Nor do the Project Authorities have the time and staff resources that go into fine tuning the documentation for PPPs.