Chandigarh, September 8
A clash of opinion with minister of forests Tikshan Sood over the supply of wooden crates worth Rs 15 crore to Pungrain by the Punjab State Forest Development Corporation has resulted in the shifting out of two secretaries from the department of forests within days of each other.
The secretaries - financial commissioner R.N. Gupta and Roshan Sankaria - had objected to the anomalous procedure followed by the corporation in sourcing crates and insisted that the corporation adhered to a more transparent system.
The corporation, however, wanted to follow the old system one last time for an order of supplying five lakh crates to Pungrain before shifting to the new system.
The old system was termed “irregular, unethical and unhealthy” by the board of directors (BoD) of the corporation when they met in early August.
It was found that the crates were bought after seeking quotations from a set of empanelled handling agents. Interestingly, seven of these “in-house” handling agents had last year quoted precisely the same rates to the corporation in separate sealed covers.
Both department and vigilance inquiries were marked then and the corporation lost the order.
Gupta who chaired the meeting in his capacity as corporation chairman decided that a transparent system of open tenders be followed henceforth.
Meantime, Pungrain’s order was received and corporation agreed to the supply of five lakh wooden crates at the rate of Rs 301.50 per crate.
Some junior officials of the corporation moved a noting to Gupta that the order be processed under the old procedure, as Pungrain was in a great hurry to procure the crates.
“If worthy FCF thinks that new criterion for empanelment of handling agents is utmost required and the old handling agents cannot be allowed to participate in the present state then this issue may kindly be discussed with the forest minister at the earliest,” suggested officials junior to the FCF.
Finding the noting “administratively indecorous, unwarranted and tantamount to misconduct in terms of delegation of authority”, Gupta suspended the officials on August 13. Within 10 days of these orders, Gupta was transferred.
Managing director of the corporation Gurbaaz Singh then wrote to Tikshan Sood explaining the situation. He pointed out that the FCF had as chairman of the corporation wrongly suspended his employees.
On August 29, the minister ordered the re-instatement of the suspended employees.
Refusing to tow the minister’s line, new secretary Roshan Sankaria noted on August 31: “Mere perusal of the note put up by the lower officials gives the impression that indiscipline and irresponsibility on their part is clearly made out.”
He went a step further. “It also raises doubt whether this note has been written by the officials concerned or this has been handed over to them by somebody else to get a favourable decision on the matter having huge financial implications and already a subject matter of inquiry.”
“Also, it needs to be examined,” he added, “whether under the rules of business MD, PSFDC, can put up a file directly to the minister?”
The secretary also reiterated that the system of competitive bidding for supply of wooden crates be followed by the corporation. A few days later, Sankaria was also shifted out. Gurbaz Singh said the new system as suggested by the BoD was being followed to supply crates.
“However, following approval from the higher authorities, including department secretary, we have already got fabricated 1.75 lakh crates to meet the emergency posed by Pungrain.”
He added that the old system was a transparent one and only a few clauses had been added to it to make it more transparent.
