The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is paying more to buy the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for its frontline workers. What the civic body is paying for the entire kit is more than the cost of individual items that make it up. The BMC pays up to Rs. 85 extra per kit for the PPE kits that come with a three-ply mask whereas, for PPE kits that consist of an N-95 mask, it pays Rs. 207 extra per kit. While the amount may seem insignificant, it makes a difference since the BMC is buying around 5,000 PPE kits daily.
The data was revealed after the civic body's Central Purchase Department (CPD) issued a circular stating that BMC buys PPE kits with an N-95 mask for Rs. 812 each. This includes a hood and a shoe cover, which cost Rs. 495; a pair of goggles that cost Rs. 59; an N-95 mask that costs Rs. 42; and a pair of nitrile gloves that cost Rs. 9.50. The total cost of individual items is just Rs. 605.50, which is Rs. 206.50 less than what the civic body is paying.
On the other hand, the civic body chimes in Rs. 660 apiece for kits that come with a three-ply mask. A single three-ply mask is worth Rs. 11.55 which means that the total cost of the individual items is Rs. 575. This means that for these kits BMC is paying Rs. 85 extra per piece.
A BMC official told Mirror that the kits with N-95 masks are for doctors and nurses in COVID-19 wards whereas the kits with three-ply masks are given to those working in non-COVID wards and support staff like security guards, phone operators, and ward boys.
Leaders of opposition in BMC raised concerns about the same and claimed that the civic body was spending more than Rs. 1 lakh extra every day due to this. BJP MLA Ameet Satam told Mirror that if the BMC could buy all individual items for less, then there was no need to pay so much for the whole kit. He added that the need of the hour for BMC is to call for bids as the kits are no longer an emergency purchase and the civic body is going to need the kits for a longer time.
It's a shame that @mybmc is doing corruption in buying of PPE kits in midst of worst health crisis of century! I demand ACB enquiry into all buying by central.purchasing dept. @CMOMaharashtra @Dev_Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/yoOUGMF7wb
— Ameet Satam (@AmeetSatam) May 12, 2020
"Instead of having such bogus rate lists, it must call for competitive tenders," Satam said.
He also alleged that he had raised objections about malpractices in procurement by the CPD earlier, but no action was taken. He also said that he is going to demand an Anti-Corruption Bureau probe into every purchase made by the CPD during the pandemic.
However, Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu said that N-95 masks were available for Rs.42 apiece only in a limited quantity. Therefore, as BMC buys it in larger numbers as a kit, it costs them more. He has also asked the CPD to float tenders so that there is competitive bidding and they get the kits at the lowest rates. He also claimed that the prices quoted in the circular are old rates and since then, they have decreased as the supply of PPE kits has increased.
Share
Tweet
