Social welfare dept in Haveri charged with misappropriating Rs one crore

Haveri: The social welfare department in Haveri, which happens to be the home district of chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, is facing allegations of having misappropriated funds to the tune of Rs One Crore. The authorities reportedly took advantage of their being exempted from scrutiny under the provisions of the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement (KTPP) Act, and purchased several electronic gadgets at rates markedly above the market price.The electronic devices in question were procured through the Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (KEONICS) to be distributed to hostels under the administration of the social welfare department.
The cumulative cost of all the devices procured by the social welfare department is Rs 1.65 crore, while the figure comes up to Rs 65 lakh on the retail market. In fact, some of the devices appear to have been procured at three or four times the market price.
KEONICS is one of the few agencies that is exempted from the purview of the KTPP Act, which enables the agency to procure devices from private companies, without having to invite tenders. Most of the devices were procured in February 2021, when the previous fiscal year was drawing to a close. Assistant directors of the department in all taluks of Haveri were involved in the procurement exercise, while the deputy director of the department reportedly gave his nod.
Among the more notable discrepancies in this scam is that the price of printers procured for two different hostels varies by more than 100%. While the printer for one hostel has been bought for Rs 32,686 – also higher than the market price – a printer, with the same technical specifications, was bought for Rs 65,372 for a hostel in Hanagal.
Haveri district secretary of Students’ Federation of India Basavaraj Bhovi charged the authorities of the social welfare department, KEONICS, besides the suppliers, with having indulged in ‘daylight robbery’. “The government must take cognisance of such a grave offence, and initiate disciplinary action against officials involved in this scam,” Bhovi said.
Deputy director of social welfare department Jagadish Hebballi, however, dismissed the allegations. “All the devices were procured in accordance with the norms laid down by the state government, and at the price fixed by KEONICS,” Hebballi said.