Telangana State government has decided to supply red gram to Anganwadi centres across the State through the Hyderabad Agriculture Cooperative Association (HACA), at a price of ₹57.15 per kilogram.
The committee chaired by Civil Supplies Commissioner C. V. Anand arrived at the price after calling for online tenders for supply of ‘Fatka’ quality red gram. Three mills from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana participated in the tenders, while one was eliminated since it did not qualify in the technical bid.
Vasudeva Dal Products from Vijayawada quoted ₹57.15, while Srilakshmi Dal Mill of Khammam quoted ₹57.22, leading to the former being chosen, in the process which went up to Friday midnight.
The tenders were called for, after allegations were levelled about overpricing of the red gram owing to irregularities and corruption in the Women and Child Development department.
Though the market price of red gram was less than ₹ 60 per kg, the price was fixed much higher, as per the complaints received by the committee, comprising ICDS project director Viziendira Boyi, Markfed MD Jaganmohan, HACA MD Surender Reddy, and Marketing Director Lakshmibai as members.
It was alleged that the orders were not processed through the government’s e-procurement web portal, and price of loading, unloading and packing too were over-quoted.
Mr. Anand also felt that the prices quoted by HACA were on the higher side, and said a decision would be taken after proper study.
Earlier, when the red gram was purchased through district level committees, each district had a different price.
The price ranged between ₹65 to ₹107 per kg, a press release informed on Saturday.
