Officials hesitant to lodge FIR

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 26

Despite the Chief Minister calling for stern action against those involved in the “substandard school uniform scam”, officials are hesitant to lodge an FIR.

The Education Department and Food and Civil Supplies Corporation officials are busy playing the blame game.

The officials of both the departments are tight-lipped as far as lodging of the FIR is concerned. It is learnt that they are finalising the 2015-16 tender for the procurement of school uniform.

Sources said officials might be trying to hush up the matter after the recent “spar” between Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who also heads the Education Department, and Food & Civil Supplies and Transport Minister GS Bali.

Uniform bought in the last three years are of poor quality. The Food and Civil Supplies Corporation had spent Rs 107. 22 on the purchase.

Out of 386 samples, 129 failed the test in 2014-15. The government had awarded two tenders to Gupta Textile, Ambala, and Mumbai-based Banaswara Syntex Limited for Rs 16.87 crore and Rs 14.08 crore, respectively.

This turned out to be Rs 4.30 crore, which is less than the bids offered in 2013-14 and 2012-13.

The Chief Minister had called for criminal action against the erring officials about a week ago, but both the departments seemed to have brushed the matter under the carpet as no FIR was lodged till today, added that sources.

Managing director of the Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Amit Kashyap said the Education Department was to decide whether to lodge the FIR.

The department imposed a fine of Rs 3.95 crore on the firms and no action was taken against the erring officials.

Additional Chief Secretary, Education, PC Dhiman feigned ignorance. He said he would hold a meeting to finalise the school uniform tender for this year.

As per data, the corporation spent Rs 41.10 crore on the purchase of uniform in 2012-13 during the BJP regime, when it had launched the Atal School Uniform Programme in haste to get political mileage in the state assembly elections.

Strangely, the corporation tested no sample then. The BJP had raised the issue in the Vidhan Sabha, but remained mum after its functioning was exposed, revealed the sources.