SOMWARPET: A scam involving three urban local bodies (ULBs) of Kodagu district, which bought computers priced 125 per cent higher than the actual market price, has come to light.
Somwarpet, Kushalnagar and Virajpet Town Panchayats (TPs) bought 41 HCL computers to distribute under SC/ST 18 per cent SFC grants during the fiscal year 2008-09.
All the computers were supplied by Abhishek Enterprises, Mysore.
The three ULBs did not invite tenders for supply of computers. Instead, they misused government guidelines in a bid to make money. ULBs can purchase items directly, as per the guidelines of the Director General of Supply and Disposals (DGSD), without inviting tenders, since DGSD has fixed prices for various items.
Express investigations revealed that the dealer issued a quotation for HCL desktop computers with Intel V processors at Rs 39,712 each. However, the computers come for little more than half the cost in the market.
The ULBs have already distributed the computers to the beneficiaries, and they are just basic models. “Somwarpet and Kushalnagar TPs paid Rs 5,33,175 rupees each, for the computers, on January 31, 2009, according to the documents obtained through RTI by one Vasanth.
In Virajpet,the TP bought 11PCs, a professional studio printer and a laptop by paying Rs 5,59,640.
of these four PCs, the printer and the laptop wrere bought for office use.
The purchase of computers at an higher price was strongly protested by Somwarpet TP Vice-Chairperson Vijayalakshmi Suresh (Congress). The Somwarpet TP had even decided, at its meeting, to return the PCs to the dealer following the protest.However, the PCs were then distributed to the beneficiaries, in violation of the TP’s own resolution, saying they were worth the price.