Bill coming to check corruption in procurement

In a bid to tackle rampant corruption in procurement of items, the government on Tuesday announced that it would bring in a Bill to deal with the issue even as a Group of Ministers set up to tackle corruption adopted a report which recommended means to make the procedure more transparent.

The comprehensive public procurement law to clearly demarcate powers and responsibilities of various authorities and ensure full transparency to reduce corruption is likely to be introduced in the winter session, Law Minister Salman Khursheed said here after a meeting of the GoM on corruption.

He said the decision was in response to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s announcement on Independence Day on introduction of a Bill on public procurement.

“As the rules would need to be in place soon after the law is enacted by the DoPT [Department of Personnel and Training], the four committees on procurement of goods, pharma drugs, services and works may directly commence drafting rules and standard templates,” the GoM, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, decided.

In February, the Cabinet Secretary set up a special committee on procurements headed by the former Competition Commission of India chairman, Vinod Dhall, to give recommendations.

According to the committee’s recommendations, the emphasis is on transparency and putting maximum information in public domain. “This facet is especially relevant in the context of a public procurement legislation and public procurement portal,” a statement said. The legislation seeks to highlight the importance of appropriate and well-designed procurement policies, putting special focus on an aspect of governance which has remained “neglected for long.” — PTI