CHENNAI: Wardens of Adi Dravidar Welfare hostels across the city have alleged that they are being forced to buy substandard vegetables and groceries from recently opened cooperative consumer stores.
Wardens who defy the oral diktat and buy groceries from other cooperative societies are being targeted by the officials, they further alleged.
There are 28 hostels, including the school hostel, run by the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department in the city, which house nearly 3,500 students. The government provides Rs 1,100 as feeding charges for college students and Rs 1,000 for school students per month. Under government order 759 of 1989, the groceries and vegetables for these hostels should be brought from cooperative societies and cooperative vegetable producers only.
“If there has to be uniform procurement, there should be a tender process. While wardens were buying groceries from reputed societies like Triplicane Urban Co-operative Society (TUCS), they were asked to buy from particular consumer cooperative stores nearly a year ago,” said a functionary of Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Wardens’ Association.
The products are of substandard quality and weigh less than the billed quantity. Many of the wardens were also asked to purchase from the stores even when they were not registered, he alleged. The wardens said while the feeding charges fixed by the government are not enough to provide quality food, this issue only makes matters worse.
“We recently met the Adi Dravidar Welfare director and gave a letter stating that we are forced to buy substandard products. He asked us to buy from TUCS or nearby cooperative societies. Following this, persons associated with the particular cooperative stores started threatening the wardens stating that they are close to the ministers,” said a warden on conditions of anonymity.
When contacted, officials at the cooperatives department said the outlet in question was registered about four months ago, and they are yet to appoint an administrator. Senior officials at the Adi Dravidar department said the wardens had brought the issue to their notice, and they were told to buy from the cooperatives they deemed fit as there was no uniform procurement.