Furniture: All clear, says tribal department

A day after Leader of the Opposition Vijay Vadettiwar leveled allegations of irregularities in the purchase of furniture worth ₹325 crore, the Tribal Development Department on Thursday clarified that the entire process was conducted in a transparent manner, and that the Bombay High Court has approved proceeding with the supplies by dismissing objections to the buying procedure.

“We have followed the State’s policy on purchase announced in December 2016. Legit tenders were issued and only the lowest bidder who would supply required furniture with the necessary specifications was given the tender. The entire process was run by issuing four different tenders on the Central government’s GeM (Government e-Marketplace) portal, without human interference,” said Dr. Kiran Kulkarni, Commissioner, Tribal Development Department.

The clarification said the government was in receipt of directions from the National Human Rights Commission as well as the courts regarding lack of basic infrastructure such as desks, benches and tables in tribal ashram schools in the State.

The department formed 125 squads comprising 400 officials and surveyed the requirements. A pre-tender meeting of suppliers was called in Pune in December 2018, following which four tenders for four tribal divisions were issued.

“The suppliers will be sending furniture to 502 government tribal ashram schools and 491 government hostels. Many of these are in remote areas. The tender conditions included supply as well as maintenance for the next few years, because of which prices varied, and every decision was taken with consultation and approval from the Law and Judiciary Ddepartment,” said Dr. Kulkarni. The process is likely to be completed in the next three to four days, he said.

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