Patna: Alleging yet another scam by the JD(U) government, the BJP today claimed that a staggering Rs. 341.32 crore revenue loss had been caused in tendering for liquor supply in Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles in Bihar between April 2014 to March 2019.
Under the scheme bids were approved to 17 companies at differential rates from Rs. 3.69 to Rs. 4.66 per 200 ML PET bottles, the BJP claimed.
The Excise department had floated Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) tender on January 31 for manufacturing of country-made liquor and its wholesale supply in PET bottles from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2019 in 17 supply zones and fixed rates for 200 ML bottles at Rs. 5.78 per piece and 400 ML bottles at Rs. 9. 78 against which the proposals of 17 bidders were approved at 12 differential rates starting from Rs. 3.69 to Rs. 4.66 for each 200 ML bottles, the former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi told reporters.
He alleged that a revenue loss of Rs. 341.32 crores was incurred as the successful bidders failed to pay the difference between the approved rate for supply of PET bottles and the based rate in the state exchequer apparently in return of funding to the ruling JD(U) for general elections under the influence of an excise department official who had earlier worked with former chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Claiming that the approval of tender for supply of PET bottles at differential rate violated the Bihar Finance Rules as well as the CVC guidelines, the former deputy chief minister questioned the excise department as to why the tenders were not approved at uniform rates to all bidders which, he said, that even the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has raised in its report.
Charging the successful bidders with failing to set up plants for manufacturing of PET bottles even months after completion of tendering process, Modi demanded that all 17 such companies be blacklisted and tendering process scrapped altogether.
Alleging that the ruling JD(U) had taken funds to meet its election expenditure from the PET bottles suppliers in lieu of awarding them contract at differential rates, the senior BJP leader said that he will raise the issue during the winter session of the state legislature beginning from December 19.
