ADC’s claim on purchases falls flat

Tribune News Service

Ropar, March 30

Even as Ropar Additional Deputy Commissioner (development) Satish Vashisht has claimed that items worth over Rs 1 crore were procured from government agencies and there was no need of inviting bids, The Tribune found that Kendriya Bhandar, a cooperative society from where goods worth Rs 90 lakh were procured, was not approved by any government.

The Kendriya Bhandar did not have any such approval since August 2015. This was confirmed by Kendriya Bhandar employees. The ADC had procured the items between May and December 2016.

The employees at Kendriya Bhandar and National Federation of Farmer’s Procurement Processing and Retailing Cooperative of India (NACOF), the other agency from where the ADC office procured goods worth Rs 10 lakh, said they had no role in fixing the prices, procurement or delivery of items.

Regional manager of NACOF PK Goyal and Gulshan of Kendriya Bhandar said the orders were procured by a Sangrur-based supplier in the name of their societies. They said it was the supplier who dealt with the ADC office on the price of each item and they only issued bills according to the supplier’s directions in the name of the zila parishad CEO (ADC development). The ADC was not available for comment.