Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 15: Government today informed the High Court that a policy has been sanctioned and approved for purchase and procurement of nutritional items supplied to the Anganwari Centers in the State.
Court on last hearing had directed State authorities for relooking the issue with regard to supplying of nutritional items to the Anganwari Centers in the State as it was alleged that the department of ICDS has given order for supply of nutritional items to a firm which is already black listed and nutritional items which are being supplied to the Anganwari Centers are not of standard quality.
After the Court directed for re-looking into the matter, department (SWD) had taken up the matter for changing the manner in which nutritional items were supplied to these centers.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Tashi Rabstan today closed the PIL as the same has achieved the grievance which was projected in the petition. In the connection department of Social Welfare issued an order on January 29 which provided that in supersession to all the previous orders issued with regard to purchase and procurement of nutritional items accorded sanction to the ‘Decentralization of Procurement of Supplementary Nutrition Scheme’ under Integrated Child Development Service as per the said policy.
The Government order along with the policy has been placed before the Court. The policy provided forming of two Committees namely Procur-ement Committee-Urban and Procurement Committee-Rural having Chairperson and three members and five members respectively.
It is Ministry of Women and Child Development Union of India to provide the funds for the purpose of purchase and supply of nutritional items for Anganwari Centers in the State.
The petitioner organization (JK Peoples Forum) through its advocate Shafkat Nazir voiced before the court about the method and manner of procurement / purchase of the nutritional items required for distribution among more than 15 lakh children belonging to disadvantaged communities through about 30,000 Anganwadi Centers across the State.
The Mission Director (ICDS) in the month of April this year invited tenders for procurement of various nutritional items for supplying the same to the Anganwari centers of Jammu & Kashmir for the year 2018-19 with some conditions therein.
“Therefore, any process of procurement undertaken by the Respondents Chief Secretary, Commissioner/Secretary SWD and Mission Director ICDS is illegal and any procurement made under the said NITs is bad in law and visited by evil consequences”, read the PIL.
It is alleged in the petition that the Mission Director in colorable exercise of power and without obtaining any administrative approval, exceeded jurisdiction and conducted the process of procurement in an illegal manner just to confer illegal benefits upon some blue-eyed persons who appear to be in league with the procurement agency.
That Mission Director, it is added, for extraneous considerations and mala fide intentions and in active connivance of the so called successful bidder issued approval order of annual rate contract for supply of nutritional items for ICDS programmes in Kashmir and Jammu Divisions for the year 2018-19 in his so called capacity as Chairman of State Level Purchase Committee which had already become Functus Officio due to expiry of term of office of the State Level Purchase Committee on 26.04.2018.
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