The Bombay high court on Tuesday was informed that the Maharashtra government has formed a high-powered committee to look into illegalities with regard to purchases made on rate contract basis in the past 15 years. The court was hearing a public interest litigation on the alleged chikki scam.
Government pleader Abhinandan Vagyan informed the division bench of Justice V.M. Kanade and Justice Revati Mohite-Dere that as per affidavit filed by the women and child development department, the government has formed a committee in November 2015 to look into irregularities of all departments from 2001 to 2014-15.
The committee is constituted by chief secretary (of government), additional chief secretary (finance) and principal secretary (industries). The court asked the government pleader to file a short affidavit in this regard.
The committee will examine purchases made by various government departments on rate contract basis, a la women and child development department’s purchase of chikki which landed its minister Pankaja Munde into controversy.
In a rate contract system, prices are fixed by the government and the supplier who bags the contract has to supply the items on that basis. The high court is hearing a petition that alleges clay particles were found in chikki supplied to students in state-run schools.
Social activist Sandeep Ahire and others have filed the PIL seeking an inquiry by a retired HC judge into the alleged '206 crore scam where sub-standard chikki was purchased to distribute in state-run schools where tribal children study
The chikki supplier approached the court, seeking payment for chikki on the basis of the report received about chikki samples but the petitioner’s lawyer objected to it.
