NEW DELHI, Apr 12:
Aiming to bring in transparency and deal with the issue of corruption in state purchases, the Government today approved a Bill that seeks to regulate public procurement of above Rs 50 lakh and provide fair treatment to bidders.
“The Bill is exceptionally important as it is part of our commitment to deal with the issue of corruption. Part of our commitment is to ensure that in Government functioning, there is both accountability and transparency,” HRD and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said after a Cabinet meeting.
The Public Procurement Bill, 2012, seeks to codify fundamental principles in the Government procurement and maximise competition, he told reporters.
The Bill, likely to be introduced in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament, would not apply to purchases “below Rs 50 lakh”.
“This will result in improving efficiency and quality… hopefully, the Bill will be introduced in this session,” the minister said.
The Bill seeks to regulate Government procurement, including that of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), with the objectives of “ensuring transparency, accountability and probity in the procurement process”.
According to an official release, the Bill also seeks to ensure fair and equitable treatment for bidders, promoting competition, enhancing efficiency and economy, safeguarding integrity in the procurement process and “enhancing public confidence in public procurement”.
Currently, there is no overarching legislation governing public procurement by the Central Government and CPSEs. The General Financial Rules, 2005, govern procurements made by the Centre.
The Procurement Bill, which will be sent to a standing committee after introduction in Parliament, also provides a “strong framework” for transparency and accountability through a public procurement portal and a grievance redressal system.
An independent mechanism, under the chairmanship of a retired High Court Judge, would review grievances, the statement said.
Elaborating on the transparency mechanism in the Bill, Sibal said: “The Central Government will set up and maintain a central public procurement portal accessible to the public for posting matters relating to public procurement.”
Currently, the Government procurement is done in many ways like open\limited competitive bidding, two stage bidding, single source procurement, electronic reverse auction and spot purchases.
“You can imagine the range of procurement processes that are going to be covered by this act and lot of these will be electronically done,” Sibal said.
The Bill provides for adequate flexibility to take into account kinds of procurement needs, types of procuring entities and methods of procurement, the statement said.
The Bill is based on recommendations of a Committee on Public Procurement headed by former bureaucrat Vinod Dhall which were accepted by a Group of Ministers (GoM), to tackle corruption, on February 22.
The GoM headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had sent the bill for approval to the Union Cabinet.
Sources said the Bill proposes a jail term ranging from six months to five years for public servants found guilty of demanding and accepting bribes from bidders of Government contracts. (PTI)
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