BENGALURU: The CAG report, tabled in the Assembly on Thursday, revealed that the social welfare department procured semi-automatic chapati-making machines for its hostels at a price much higher than the market rate. While the actual cost was Rs 1.29 lakh a unit, the department procured 550 for Rs 3.63 lakh per machine.
A random check found that of the 37 hostels where the machines were given, only three were using them.
As per the CAG report for the period ending March 2023, more than 2,000 models of chapati-making machines were available from various vendors at the Union government’s e-Marketplace.
“Despite having these options, the department made no effort to determine the prevailing market rates for the machines. Instead, it arbitrarily procured the machines through KEONICS, an organisation whose technical expertise was primarily for IT-related procurement,’’ it noted.
The CAG also pointed out that scrutiny of internal correspondence during the purchase tenure revealed that a senior official alerted another senior official that the market rate of the chapati-making machines supplied to them by KEONICS was only Rs 66,000 per unit (excluding tax and transportation). The report stated that the purchase order and related files revealed that the actual price of the equipment was found to be only Rs 1.29 lakh against Rs 3.83 lakh offered by KEONICS.
The department relied upon the rates quoted by KEONICS for the proposed models without any examination or market survey and awarded the contract worth Rs 20.92 crore for the supply of 550 units. The report recommended that an investigation be initiated immediately into the matter.
Interestingly, the procurement of these machines was done without any assessment. The audit selected hostels maintained by the department in Mandya and Chikkaballapur districts for checking.
“Out of 37 hostels, only three were using these machines, while 18 hostels had dumped it in their storeroom and the remaining 16 were using the regular chapati tawa,” it stated.