Opposition alleges Maharashtra govt purchased cancer diagnostic vans at inflated price, Speaker Rahul Narvekar orders inquiry
Opposition MLAs questioned the price at which each of the vans was purchased. 'As per the information I have, the price of each van was Rs 99 lakh, while a similar van of the Tata company can be purchased at Rs 45 lakh only. The entire purchase process looks managed and there can be no denying this,' said Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav.
Meghana Sakore-Bordikar, Minister of State for Public Health, stated that the purchase of eight cancer diagnostic vans was made through the government's GeM portal via a turnkey process. The rates at which purchases were made were 0.94 per cent less than the estimated rates. There was a competitive tender for the same. It involves the vehicle, medical equipment, furniture and customisation. There has been no corruption in the purchase,' said the minister.
She said three companies had participated in the tender process. 'At present, an inquiry is ongoing based on complaints from the legislators,' she said.
'The government has purchased eight cancer diagnostic vans. The price of a van cannot exceed Rs 40 lakh. The equipment in this van is not more than Rs 12 lakhs. However, the vehicles have been purchased at a higher price,' said Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar.
Wadettiwar said these vans are related to a life-threatening disease like cancer, and some of the equipment has even broken down. 'There should be an investigation into whether there has been corruption in this purchase. The report must come out if the investigation is ongoing,' he said. The Congress MLA asked the Speaker to ensure that the report is tabled before the house, before the end of the session.
'The inquiry must be conducted at the earliest and the report should be tabled before the House before the end of the session,' said Speaker Narvekar.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
Stop harassment of Bengal workers in your state, CS Pant writes to Odisha
Kolkata: Indicating a growing frustration with Bengali-speaking migrant workers being illegally detained in Odisha as Bangladeshis, Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant on Thursday wrote to his Odisha counterpart, Manoj Ahuja, to put an end to this "continuing harassment faced by people from West Bengal" in the neighbouring state. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Samirul Islam, chairman of West Bengal Migrant Workers' Welfare Board and Trinamool's RS MP, threatened to move Calcutta High Court on the issue. "Thousands of people from Odisha live and work peacefully in Bengal. Not once has Bengal govt treated them with even a fraction of the hostility that Odisha is showing now," he said. Pant, in his letter, wrote: "We are receiving disturbing reports of such individuals being detained without due legal process in regions around Paradip and across coastal districts such as Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Malkangiri, Balasore and Cuttack. What is even more concerning is that even when these persons produce valid identity documents — including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, voter IDs, electricity bills and PDS documents — their claims are being dismissed. In many instances, they are being asked to produce ancestral land records dating back several generations, an unreasonable and unjustifiable demand for migrant workers." Pant also mentioned how, "alarmingly, there have also been instances where, despite verification reports from competent authorities in West Bengal confirming the identity and citizenship of the individuals, there has been no positive action or relief". "I appeal to you to take a humanitarian view of the matter and ensure that these individuals, who are Indian citizens, are not subjected to arbitrary detention or harassment based on linguistic or regional identity," he wrote. "It is deeply distressing to learn that many of them are being targeted solely because they speak Bengali — their mother tongue — and are being unjustly labelled as Bangladeshi infiltrators. This sweeping generalisation is not only unfair and discriminatory, but also deeply hurtful to citizens who have every right to dignity and protection under the law," Pant added. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Islam, who has been vocal on the issue, said: "The Odisha authorities refused to accept any identity document like Aadhaar and EPIC, and demanded verification from Bengal govt. We promptly provided the required details — verified and furnished by none other than DMs and SPs. But even that failed to satisfy them. Next, they asked for the electoral roll where names of these individuals were listed. Once again, the Bengal administration complied and sent the relevant documents. " The MP said: "Our CM Mamata Banerjee believes in diversity and strives to maintain harmony in every sense. So, I sincerely urge the Odisha govt and BJP: do not play with fire. If you ignite the politics of hatred, you may end up being consumed by your own flames."
NDTV
30 minutes ago
- NDTV
After Op Sindoor, Centre Clears Rs 1 Lakh Crore Missile, Weapons Purchases
New Delhi: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Thursday gave the go-ahead for 10 proposals to buy military hardware, including missiles and electronic warfare systems, worth approximately Rs 1.05 lakh crore through indigenous sourcing. The DAC works under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The DAC gave its "Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of Armoured Recovery Vehicles, Electronic Warfare System, Integrated Common Inventory Management System for the Tri-Services and Surface-to-Air Missiles. These procurements will provide higher mobility, effective air defence, better supply chain management, and augment the operational preparedness of the Armed Forces", the Defence Ministry said in a statement. AoNs were also given for procurement of Moored Mines, Mine Counter Measure Vessels, Super Rapid Gun Mount and Submersible Autonomous Vessels. These procurements will enable the mitigation of potential risks posed to the naval and merchant vessels. To provide further impetus to indigenous design and development, AoNs were accorded under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) category, the statement said. India's indigenous defence production has surged to an all-time high of Rs 1.46 lakh crore, with exports increasing to a record Rs 24,000 crore in 2024-25, according to Mr Singh. "Our defence production, which was only Rs 43,000 crore 10 to 11 years ago, has now crossed a record figure of Rs 1,46,000 crore, with the private sector's contribution of over Rs 32,000 crore. Our defence exports, which were around Rs 600-700 crore 10 years ago, have surpassed a record figure of Rs 24,000 crore today," the minister stated in his address at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) annual summit recently. He described the Make In India policy as crucial for security and prosperity, stating that the use of indigenous systems during 'Operation Sindoor' has proved that India has the power to penetrate any armour of the enemy. "Our weapons, systems, sub-systems, components, and services are reaching around 100 countries. Over 16,000 MSMEs, associated with the defence sector, have become the backbone of the supply chain. These companies are not only strengthening our self-reliance journey, but are also providing employment to lakhs of people," the minister said. He said the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme execution model will open an opportunity for the private sector to participate in a mega defence project along with public sector companies for the first time, further bolstering the Make In India drive in the defence industry, he added.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
SIR an attempt to disenfranchise 20% Bihar voters, alleges Cong
1 2 Patna: The Congress on Thursday accused the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise nearly 20% of voters in Bihar under the garb of the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls. Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar claimed that the EC had made up its mind to deny voting rights to large sections of the population, especially migrant workers who stay outside the state under compulsion but return home during elections to cast their votes. "It seems the EC has already made up its mind to deny voting rights to Bihar people," he said, questioning the integrity of the entire exercise. He added that people affected by floods have nothing left in their homes and are in no position to produce documents. "Every time there is a flood, their homes get submerged, and they must rebuild from scratch. Where will people living in such conditions bring proof for you?" he asked. He further alleged that the BLOs, who have been assigned the task of verifying thousands of voters, have not been provided the necessary resources to do their job properly. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Krishna Allavaru, Congress's in charge for Bihar, accused the EC of acting under govt pressure. "Whenever the govt faces a crisis, its agencies begin such actions," he said. "It is strange that the very voters who elected this government are now being asked to prove their identity. By excluding Aadhaar from this voter revision process, eight crore people are being asked to submit documents they don't have," he added. Pawan Khera, chairman of the party's media and publicity department, described the entire exercise as a move to delete voters' names before the upcoming elections. "The EC's decision is to disenfranchise people, which we strongly oppose," Khera said, linking the timing of the revision drive to a recent opinion survey. "The process was launched just as a new survey showed a surge in popularity for the INDIA bloc and our leader Rahul Gandhi," he said.
