While an inquiry about the procurement of bomb suits is pending before the anti-corruption bureau, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has pulled up the home department for paying '6 crore to a suppli
While an inquiry about the procurement of bomb suits is pending before the anti-corruption bureau, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has pulled up the home department for paying '6 crore to a supplier of bomb suits without getting the delivery. Also, the PAC has found during deposition that the officials involved in the procurement acted on the instructions of the then Assembly Speaker and the state home minister, who had called them regarding the procurement. However, the PAC has neither revealed their names nor recommended any action.
After eight years of the incident, no action has been taken against the guilty officials in the case, the PAC observed. The state had ordered 82 bomb suits for the protection of the police force in 2008 after the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai.
Terming the home department’s act in procuring the bomb suits as ‘irresponsible’ and ‘negligent’, the PAC has asked the government about the delay in taking action against the officers found guilty. “The inquiry against the officials is not yet completed. It indicates that the home department is not serious about taking action against them. The government should lodge a criminal complaint against the supplier for flouting norms and blacklist it. But it has been found that the same companies are involved in procurement for the tribal and social justice departments,” it said.
It was decided in 2008 that 82 bomb suits would be purchased for the security of the police force. Five companies responded to the tender floated by the home department, and the owner of three out of the five companies was the same person. The DG office approved '60.58 lakh per suit and the tender was awarded to M/S Technotrade Impex India Pvt Ltd. The advance of '6 crore was given to the company, without even the samples of the suits being checked. The home department has yet not received any delivery of the bomb suits.
“The directors and owners of the company should be booked because it has been observed that they keep forming new companies after one gets blacklisted. Also, the company that was awarded the tender had no experience in making bomb suits. There were no parameters decided to select the company apart from the lowest tender cost. The government has to include parameters like financial and technical expertise of the companies in the tender for those willing to associate with the government for procurements,” the PAC recommended.
The PAC has also rapped the government for an inordinate delay in conducting an inquiry against the officials. It has instructed the government to fix a time period for the inquiry. “There are always delays in the departmental inquiries... Hence, a timeframe has to be decided for the inquiries and officials from other departments should be given the responsibility for an unbiased inquiry,” it said.
