Nara Lokesh Strikes Quid Pro Quo In Dalit Youth Welfare Scheme

Amaravati: Calling for tenders for sales and services is a norm in the government's administrative process. The bidder who quotes the least would be finalised for purchase of goods. But, the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) is awarding the tenders to cronies of certain leaders at double the price of the market value. In the SC Corporation's initiative to support the unemployed youth, tenders were called for the purchase of 7,500 e-auto-rickshaws in the first stage in West Godavari, Chittoor, East Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Krishna districts. It is being said that minister Nara Lokesh struck a deal with one of his crony companies, in a clear case of quid pro quo.

On 29 July, 2018, representatives of Kinetic Green India met Nara Lokesh at the Secretariat. It is widely believed that the IT minister had favoured Kinetic Green in the tender process. Out of the 24 organizations which had applied for the tender, 16 organizations had been deemed as eligible.

At the time of opening the tenders, Lokesh took active participation in the process and had asked the officials to award the tender to the organization of his choice, which had already quoted a high price, it is said. However, the officials had scrapped the tender and called for a fresh tender in November and the tenders were opened on 4 December.

Later, minister Nara Lokesh had asked the officials to tweak the tender guidelines. In the revised eligibility criteria, the Earnest Money Deposit had been dramatically increased to Rs 1.5 crore from the initial EMD of Rs 25,000. Also, the criteria requires the organizations to possess an official certificate recognising previous experience in delivering at least 25,00 e-autos.

SSV Technology, Victory Electrical, RIP Technology, Kinetic Green India and Bharat Engineering Works were among the organizations which participated in the tender. Interestingly, Kinetic Green, which did not have the Homologation Certificate, was awarded the contract, flouting the eligibility norms. While all the remaining organizations quoted a price below Rs 2.20 lakhs, Kinetic Green quoted a price of Rs 2.44 lakhs. The current market rate is Rs 1.48 lakhs, meaning Rs 1 lakh loss to the government.

In the first stage bidding process, certain companies had quoted a price of around Rs 1.10 lakh. They were out-rightly rejected. Under Bharat Mission scheme, eligible Dalit youth would be provided the e-autos, in which waste should be collected. Bank loans would be given to the youth and they would be burdened with vehicle loans.

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