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Express News Service
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to reduce wasteful expenditure, the Kerala police are likely to go in for an inventory monitoring system to limit spending as per real requirements.
The committee tasked with formulating rules on purchases in the police department has recommended the establishment of a purchase inventory monitoring system to regulate spending and prevent the misuse ofpublic funds. The committee, led by retired High Court judge CN Ramachandran Nair, submitted its report to CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday.
The report proposes that a committee headed by the State Police Chief should conduct periodic reviews of purchased equipment every six months. This review will ensure that the department only spends moneyon items that are necessary and will help to maintain a comprehensive database of purchased items.
In 2020, the LDF government formed a committee with former DGP Jacob Punnoose and former Home Secretary Subrata Biswas as members to review the existing norms and practices in police purchases. The committee was tasked with proposing new rules to streamline purchases in the police department. The decision to review police purchase norms was made after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report accused then-police chief Loknath Behera of fund diversion and flouting purchase rules.
The committee recommended that the police department strictly adheres to the finance code and store purchase manual while spending funds on procuring goods and services. The report emphasized that fundsallotted for a specific project should not be diverted to carry out a different project. Additionally, the committee proposed involving the Finance department in purchase matters and making the FinanceSecretary a member of all purchase committees. The committee also suggested dividing purchases into various classes based on the amount involved and assigning committees for each class to oversee thespending.
For high-value purchases of over Rs 5 crore, the report recommended that a committee headed by the Home Secretary should monitor the proceedings. To avoid issues related to purchases, the report proposedrelying on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), an online platform for public procurement. The committee also suggested that the government engage in centralized bulk purchasing for various departments to maximize the benefits of business deals. The State Purchase Department should coordinate centralized purchasing, according to the report.
The report cautioned against emergency purchases made without following usual purchase norms and emphasized that such purchases should be limited to genuine emergencies. The CAG report hadcriticized the police for channelling funds under claims of emergency purchases.
The committee also suggested that single-bid tenders be considered only after price discovery and comparison of rates offered in earlier deals. Finally, the committee recommended that the police be given the authority to sell vehicles caught while committing offences.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to reduce wasteful expenditure, the Kerala police are likely to go in for an inventory monitoring system to limit spending as per real requirements.
The committee tasked with formulating rules on purchases in the police department has recommended the establishment of a purchase inventory monitoring system to regulate spending and prevent the misuse of
public funds. The committee, led by retired High Court judge CN Ramachandran Nair, submitted its report to CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday.
The report proposes that a committee headed by the State Police Chief should conduct periodic reviews of purchased equipment every six months. This review will ensure that the department only spends money
on items that are necessary and will help to maintain a comprehensive database of purchased items.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
In 2020, the LDF government formed a committee with former DGP Jacob Punnoose and former Home Secretary Subrata Biswas as members to review the existing norms and practices in police purchases. The committee was tasked with proposing new rules to streamline purchases in the police department. The decision to review police purchase norms was made after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report accused then-police chief Loknath Behera of fund diversion and flouting purchase rules.
The committee recommended that the police department strictly adheres to the finance code and store purchase manual while spending funds on procuring goods and services. The report emphasized that funds
allotted for a specific project should not be diverted to carry out a different project. Additionally, the committee proposed involving the Finance department in purchase matters and making the Finance
Secretary a member of all purchase committees. The committee also suggested dividing purchases into various classes based on the amount involved and assigning committees for each class to oversee the
spending.
For high-value purchases of over Rs 5 crore, the report recommended that a committee headed by the Home Secretary should monitor the proceedings. To avoid issues related to purchases, the report proposed
relying on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), an online platform for public procurement. The committee also suggested that the government engage in centralized bulk purchasing for various departments to maximize the benefits of business deals. The State Purchase Department should coordinate centralized purchasing, according to the report.
The report cautioned against emergency purchases made without following usual purchase norms and emphasized that such purchases should be limited to genuine emergencies. The CAG report had
criticized the police for channelling funds under claims of emergency purchases.
The committee also suggested that single-bid tenders be considered only after price discovery and comparison of rates offered in earlier deals. Finally, the committee recommended that the police be given the authority to sell vehicles caught while committing offences.
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