Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh have levelled allegations of favouritism in tender allocation for school uniform supplies in Maharashtra government schools worth Rs 138-crore.
Shaikh alleged that to favour textile manufacturers from Gujarat and Rajasthan, tender conditions were drafted in such a way that the Maharashtra-based power loom cloth makers were kept out and that there was no reservation for them in the tender.
The Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad (MPSP) under the school education department recently floated a tender for 1.2 crore metres of cloth for their free school uniform scheme.
In a letter to state chief minister Eknath Shinde, Shaikh has demanded that the tender be scrapped and that the Maharashtra State Powerloom Corporation (MSPC) be made the nodal agency for procurement.
“Half of the country’s looms, i.e., 13 lakh, are in Maharashtra. However, the school education department wants to buy cloth from Rajasthan and Gujarat textile manufacturers,” Shaikh said. A conspiracy was hatched in the tender to keep loom owners of Maharashtra out, he said.
“The textile manufacturers who wanted to participate in the bid for cloth procurement are requird to have productivity of 1 lakh metres per day, a three-year turnover of more than Rs 55 lakh, and a one-time supply of at least Rs 60 lakh,” Shaikh said.
State school education department officials said that they would look into Shaikh’s allegation and check if there was any substance in it.
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