Bhawanipatna: Supply of solar LED lights worth Rs 1.60 crore to Kesinga block in Kalahandi district has come under the scanner after the Collector ordered a probe, a report said Thursday.
Collector Gavali Parag Harshad directed the Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) to probe the charges and submit a report, July 30.
According to the complaint, a notice (Notification No:1/19) inviting tenders under the Centre-sponsored Rurban Mission was published for the supply of solar LED lights costing Rs 62.55 lakh for Utkela (A and B), Rs 37.67 lakh for Kikia, Rs 37.67 lakh for Gokuleshwar and Rs 22,27 lakh for Chancher areas in Kesinga block.
The notice mentioned that interested bidders can purchase the tender papers between July 20 and July 26, but surprisingly not even a single tender paper was sold. However, the block office received around 10 tenders.
The notice did not mention that the tender papers could be downloaded from the website or ask for demand drafts during submission of tenders.
This has raised questions on how the bidders could submit the tenders when no such thing was mentioned in the notification.
The tender was scheduled to open July 30, but was cancelled after the panchayat representative raised a hue and cry over the manner of floating the tender.
The Tender Committee cancelled the tender and secretly published a tender for the information of a select group of bidders. After reports surfaced, the block authorities hastily pasted a notice on the notice board, Tuesday
An attempt to contact the block authorities and the Executive Engineer of the Rural Development Department for their opinion on the matter was frustrated as they did not answer their phones.
The public has demanded a thorough probe as government funds worth crores of rupees is involved.
PNN