HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has set aside a government tender for procurement of bedsheets, blankets and towels, holding that it bypassed the prescribed mechanism for sourcing handloom goods through cooperative institutions.
The petition was filed by the Veeranjaneya Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society against the education department’s decision to procure items through an open-market process under a “project monitoring unit”, instead of routing orders through the Telangana State Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society (TSCO).
Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti noted that a March 2024 government order (GO Ms. No. 1) mandates all departments to procure handloom products through TSCO. Alternative procurement is permitted only upon issuance of a Non-Availability Certificate by TSCO.
The court found that the impugned tender did not comply with this requirement and declared it invalid. It directed all departments to adhere to the government order in future procurements.
The court also referred to the conditions affecting the handloom sector, including competition from mechanised production and rising costs.
The ruling is expected to impact procurement involving handloom products and cooperative societies across the state.