PRENEETA SHARMA
Shimla
A significant government scandal has surfaced over the allocation of a canteen in the new OPD building of the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Shimla. According to the sources, the rules had been flouted while allotting the canteen tender.
The most shocking thing in the case is that the tender notice was issued on October 26, and the deadline for submitting the application was kept till 1 pm on the same day. It seemed as if the four companies appeared to be awaiting an announcement of the tender and the application process outside the IGMC gate. Everyone is aware of how this might occur, but this process is a blatant violation of Himachal Pradesh Financial Rules 2009, according to which the notice of any tender should be issued for at least three weeks. Even in an urgent situation, this period cannot be less than two weeks. But no one cares because, from the administration to the government, all are busy in benefiting someone.
The lack of transparency in the tender process and the action taken with unusual speed have raised many questions. In this case, quotations were sought for a list of 33 food items, but proper evaluation was not done. There is just a Rs 5 difference in the prices of the 33 food products among the four firms. You can now picture how the tender was awarded to New Diamond, which is ranked fourth. Furthermore, the chosen company, New Diamond, was only asked to submit a security deposit of Rs. 10,000.
Not only this, the security deposit, meant to be submitted by the selected firm, New Diamond, was instead deposited by a private individual, Sanjay Kumar from Mandi, raising serious concerns about favoritism and corruption. The Sanjay Kumar, whose name is being discussed and in whose name the New Diamond firm has applied, is not the same Sanjay Kumar. The tender one, Sanjay Kumar, is the one who works in a hotel in Narkanda. New Diamond has taken this tender on the basis of his certificate of experience, and the security fees were also paid. But the Sanjay Kumar who has the canteen these days is someone else. According to the sources, the New Diamond Firm owner, Sanjay Kumar, is the same Sanjay Kumar who was also the driver of Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. This Sanjay Kumar is a resident at Sankat Mochan, and nowadays, running the canteen of IGMC New Block.
In the same case, when IGMC MS Dr. Rahul Rao questioned this, he denied it and said that he was not aware of the questions being raised regarding the allotment. But the tender was done a year ago, which was done as per the rules.
Will CM Sukhu now take decisive action in this case, or will the situation remain the same as it was during the Vidhan Sabha Recruitment?
