Personal appearance of Admn Secy Social Welfare sought
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 17: Expressing serious concern over mismanagement in procurement of food items for Anganwari Centres in the length and breadth of Jammu and Kashmir, the State Accountability Commission (SAC) has sought the direct intervention of Chief Minister and Minister for Social Welfare for bringing much-needed transparency in the entire process and to ensure that hygienic food items are supplied to lakhs of children.
The absolute mismanagement in procurement of food-items for Anganwari Centres came to the notice of State Accountability Commission when it started proceedings after taking suo-moto cognizance of the media reports regarding supply of rotten food items in Pulwama district of Kashmir valley more than one and half years back.
As the health of children of underprivileged sections of the society was involved, the Accountability Commission started seeking information about the procurement process from the Mission Director Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS).
However, there was no satisfactory reply from the Mission Director and accordingly Commission found it appropriate to seek answers to its queries regarding steps initiated to ensure transparency in procurements, check quality of the food-items before supply to the Anganwari Centres and their storage from the Commissioner/ Secretary Social Welfare Department.
Accordingly, the Accountability Commission sought the personal appearance of the Commissioner/ Secretary Social Welfare Department. However, the Full Commission comprising Chairperson Justice B A Khan and Members Justice J P Singh and Justice B A Kirmani, which met few days back, expressed concern over continuous casual approach of the department.
“The Commissioner/ Secretary, Social Welfare Department is said to have retired from the service and no new officer has been posted. Moreover, no Additional or Special Secretary of the department has chosen to appear or to assist in terms of the last order which shows non-serious approach of the department”, the SAC said in the order, the copy of which has been managed by EXCELSIOR from the Civil Secretariat.
“We have heard the Mission Director ICDS and it has come to the fore that he is again thinking of resorting to e-tendering for procurement of food items for Anganwari Centres, which was discarded earlier on some unjustifiable grounds”, the Commission said, adding “the Social Welfare Department is alternating between e-tendering and private procurement for the past quite long time which shows mismanagement of a crucial activity of feeding the children in the Anganwari Centres”.
“We could have put Social Welfare Minister on notice but one more opportunity is granted to the departmental head to furnish the information”, the SAC said, adding “it is now known under what arrangement food items are supplied to children in the Anganwari Centres at present”.
The Commission hoped that the Social Welfare Minister would effectively intervene to ensure proper supplies of food items to the children in Anganwari Centres. “He is also required to depute Commissioner/ Secretary on next date along with record and latest status report to assist us”, the Full Commission said.
Moreover, the Commission has directed that copies of the order be sent to the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister for her (Mehbooba Mufti’s) direct intervention besides to the Chief Secretary for passing necessary instructions to the Commissioner/ Secretary Social Welfare Department and Mission Director ICDS for ensuring utmost transparency in the procurement of food items.
It is pertinent to mention here that Mission Director ICDS was making procurement of food-items without adopting e-tendering process and following intervention of SAC the e-tenders were floated but on the ground of poor response again decision was taken for private procurement.
However, following fresh concerns from the Accountability Commission the Mission Director again started thinking of resorting to e-tendering, which has yet not reached the logical conclusion.
“If the department has failed to make procurement for quite a long time then how it is supplying food items to the Anganwari Centres remains a million dollar question”, sources said.
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