GCERT in an alleged tender processing scam
Information accessed through Right to Information (RTI) Act by Rajen Amin, an Ahmedabad-based activist, has revealed that something is amiss in the Gujarat Council of Education and Research Training (GCERT)’s tendering procedure for magazine and printing supplies during 2013-14. He has claimed that a major fraud and corruption has been committed in the tendering process.
18 Mar 2015 | By PrintWeek India
GCERT in an alleged tender processing scam
According to reports, Amin has claimed that contract for printing magazines was awarded at just Rs 70-lakh to Reliable Art Printery in Ahmedabad, but further orders amounting to Rs 40-45-crore were issued to the same printer, without following the procedure of re-tendering.
A prominent books and magazine printer in Ahmedabad, who did not want to be named, said that the printing fraternity in Ahmedabad is greatly distressed with what has been revealed. “This is just not correct. This amounts to unfair advantage to one printer, and injustice on many others,” he said.
According to the printers, “The cost quoted for a single page was Rs 0.27 and for double it was Rs 0.29, totalling to Rs 0.58 for single sheet, two side printing. But the GCERT allowed the company to charge Rs 1.08 for four pages at the cost of Rs 0.27 per page, leading to greater profit margin for the company.”
In addition, Reliable was also allowed to charge for cover pages as extra, in spite of it being part of the total cost of Rs 6.05 per 32-page copy of the magazine including covers.
The GCERT, according to reports, has rubbished the allegation, claiming that the tender processing has been done as per rules and regulations, and there are no wrongdoings in the case. A committee was formed, which had approved the party which quoted the least rates. A report prepared by a retired government official has been submitted to the government.
Last year in its August issue, PrintWeek India in an article had cited how the 90+ web offset press installations, most with Flowline machine, in a span of just one and a half year, had impacted the book and magazine printing business. Mudresh Purohit, president of the Ahmedabad Printing Press Association (APPA) had said, “The Gujarat State School Textbook Board (Gujarat Rajya ShalaPathyapustak Mandal) made a commitment that if you have enough machinery, it could provide 25% extra book work.” As a result, many companies bolstered their plant with web offset and post-press machinery.
This new revelation is the last thing that the book and magazine printing industry in Ahmedabadwanted. It will be interesting to see how the print community will react to the development.
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