Printers in Mumbai and Pune outraged by Balbharati’s deal

The Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (MSBTPCR), popularly known as Balbharati has run into “a Rs 40-crore loss” as per media reports in the local Marathi press. The loss is due to the purchase of the paper required for textbooks was done at higher rate as compared to the market value.

07 Dec 2013 | By PrintWeek India

Rahul Jain of Line Art Indore, said, “This is another blatant example of letting public money go down the drain in something as mundane as buying paper.”
 
According to a specific report in Loksatta (Indian Express Group), “The education board has paid Rs 9,000 to 10,000 extra per tonne while making the purchase”.

As per the Balbharati website, every year the education board purchases approximately 35,000 tonnes paper for the inside pages and 5,000 tonnes for the cover. For the year 2014-2015, education board issued a tender in August 2013 for 70 and 80 gsm Creamwove grade paper.
 
As per the tendering process, the paper companies were confirmed and the board purchased the paper at Rs 55,000 per tonne from these paper companies. When the purchased was done in August 2013, the rate per tonne of the above mentioned grade of paper in the open market was Rs 45,000.
When PrintWeek India contacted the education board, the officials did not respond. 

India Printing Works: Anand Limaye
This is the criminal waste of public money. When Balbharati can pay more for the paper purchase then why it can’t pay more to the printers? Is this not waste of precious oil for transportation? The paper is transported to the cities out of Maharashtra for the print firms who collect the paper and who transport the printed paper back to Maharashtra. Why this lengthy process? If the government still wants to transport the paper then why it can’t go directly to the doorstep of print firms from the paper mills?

In first place, the MSBTPCR doesn’t consider Maharashtra or the local printers for their print requirements. Aren’t the printers in Maharashtra competent to fulfil their requirements? The government official travel pan India to do the audit and survey of the print firms which again involves money. This is again public money. If this criminal waste of money goes on then we printers from Maharashtra will approach the government. The government should stop this and rethink in their approach.”
 

United Multicolour Printers: Ravindra Joshi
“The association’s next agenda is to approach the government for the issues which needs to be addressed in regards to Balbharati. One of the important issues is why local printers are not given the first preference. We are not against any print firms who are out of Maharashtra and who are catering to Balbharati. It is just that if the local printers are considered then many issues of Balbharati can be resolved.”