The Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), which implements the free laptop scheme for students in government and government-aided schools and colleges, procured 9,549 laptops for the Directorate of Employment and Training, leading to an avoidable expenditure of ₹1.69 crore, the CAG report on public sector undertakings for the year ending March 2018 found.
“Though ELCOT was aware of falling prices of laptops in the market and that the tender for procuring them with higher configuration of 4GB memory was at an advanced stage, it placed orders at a rate higher by ₹1,769 a laptop. This resulted in the avoidable expenditure of ₹1.69 crore to DoET. The distribution of laptops to students was made only after the close of the academic year,” the report said.
The CAG also found that ELCOT had allotted two acres of land required by Ford India to meet its green norms, without following due process. It allotted the land which belonged to Satyam Computer Services for the creation of a green belt by Ford, for which the IT company had already paid ₹1.01 crore.
The CAG also found that an absence of a suitable clause on escalation of licence fee for bars attached to Tasmac had caused a loss of ₹18.67 crore to the government and ₹19 lakh as agency commission to Tasmac between July 2016 and November 2017.
The objectives of the TICEL Bio Park Ltd. remained unachieved due to the procurement of lab equipment without deploying the required manpower to handle them. This had led to the idling of the lab facilities worth ₹17.32 crore, the CAG reported.
It also found that the Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation Limited and the Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited mined limestone without obtaining environmental clearance resulting in payment of penalty of ₹57.72 crore.
