Noida: A special investigation team set up by the UP government to inquire into alleged irregularities in the procurement of essential health screening equipment for the state’s villages has unearthed anomalies that range from prices to GST information.
The three-member SIT, formed after allegations of the purchases being made at heavily inflated prices to benefit certain entities, found wide variations in bills submitted from different districts for procurement of pulse oximeters and infrared thermometers to monitor Covid-19 patients.
The purchase price of an oximeter, for instance, varied from Rs 684 in one district to Rs 7,500 in another. Similarly, a thermometer procured for Rs 900 in one part of the state cost Rs 11,250 in another. TOI has a copy of the report, which was submitted to the state government on October 1.
The SIT, which was headed by additional chief secretary (revenue) Renuka Kumar, also found from GST filings that many of the firms from which the medical equipment was procured were registered as construction or media advertising companies. The report does not put a financial value to the hit on the exchequer but has suggested an audit to arrive at a number.
In an order issued by the state on June 26 this year, village panchayats were authorised to purchase a set of pulse oximeters and infra-red thermometers for monitoring people with confirmed or possible infections during the pandemic. The funds were to come from the state finance commission.
One of the first to draw the state’s attention to possible large-scale misappropriation of funds was Devmani Dwivedi, the BJP MLA from Sultanpur. Dwivedi wrote to the principal secretary of the panchayati raj department, alleging Covid-19 surveillance kits were being bought at more than thrice the government-approved rates. He sought an inquiry. The SIT was constituted on September 10.
“The final report was prepared and submitted with the consent of all three members. However, further details can only be shared by the chairman of the SIT,” said urban development secretary and UP Jal Nigam MD Vikas Gothalwal, who was a member of the SIT.
Across 75 districts of the state, a total of 50,116 pulse oximeters were procured. The mean cost of pulse oximeters per unit was found to be Rs 1,335. According to the SIT report, 22 districts bought the oximeters at prices higher than this. The anomalies were glaring in districts like Sultanpur, Firozabad, Lalitpur, Muzaffarnagar, Jhansi, Gonda, Bareilly and Baghpat. An oximeter was procured for as low as Rs 684 in Kushinagar and Rs 700 in districts like Rampur, Basti and Sitapur but Rs 7,500 in Firozabad and Rs 4,700 in Baghpat.
The mean procurement cost of an infrared thermometer was Rs 1,955. A total of 49,401 of these temperature checking devices were bought. The report says, “There are 22 districts where the average cost of thermometers is higher than Rs 1,955. It is also worth a deeper analysis why the top six districts not only have higher prices but higher standard deviation.”
The cost of procuring an infrared thermometer was the highest (Rs 11,250) in Firozabad, followed by Baghpat (Rs7,500) and Sultanpur (Rs 6,900). Pratapgarh paid the least per piece – Rs 900.
The SIT also found that in most gram panchayats, the GST numbers of the supplier firms were incorrect or not given at all. “After in-depth analysis, a list of 589 firms that do not have valid GST number has been drawn up. A number of districts have not even listed the name of the supplier firms,” the SIT report observes, adding, “After tallying with the GST portal, most of the supplier firms have been found to be registered as construction companies or associated with media advertisement. These firms have no prior experience in dealing in medical equipment.”
“The excessive anomalies,” the report infers, “are indicative of vested interests of persons/firms in the process of purchase.”
Besides, though gram pradhans were to make the purchases, most village heads informed the SIT oximeters and thermometers procurement had been centralised by local administrations. The SIT had telephone conversations with 2007 gram pradhans and gram sachivs (secretaries) to ask which official made the purchase of the items. Only in 752 instances did the gram panchayat make the purchases, according to the report. In 708 cases, the gram pradhans said they did not have any knowledge of this at all.
The SIT also found several bills and vouchers against the purchase of other items had been uploaded. “In almost all village panchayats, bills and vouchers of expenditure incurred during Covid-19 is uploaded on the e-Gram Swaraj portal. Some districts also purchased items other than pulse oximeters and infrared thermometers. The number of such vouchers is quite a lot. The situation will become clear once these are cross-checked and verified by the audit department,” the report says.
MLA Dwivedi told TOI, “Some of the gram pradhans raised the issue that the items were being bought at higher prices. They were also worried that district officials were making the purchases while they had to sign the bills. I raised the issue with the CM since we have zero tolerance towards such corruption. I flagged it for my district but came to know the SIT found irregularities in other districts too.”
Manoj Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary (panchayati raj), said the SIT report had been sent to the department but an objection was raised on the premise used by the SIT for calculating the base rate. “The SIT calculated the average rate of purchase for oximeters and IR thermometers based on the purchases made by all gram panchayats. Its mandate, however, was to assess who had purchased above market rate. Based on the SIT's findings, there were problems with about 20 districts,” said Singh.
On receiving the SIT report, the panchayati raj department got the rates on which central government departments and other state governments as well as the UP government’s own departments had purchased oximeters and thermometers in July. Based on this figure, anomalies were found in purchase rates of four to five districts. “The department has been directed to take action against those found guilty in these four to five districts,” Singh said.