Summary:
GUWAHATI: The Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia observed that there is a whiff of kickbacks in the policy adopted by the State's Social Welfare and Education Departments for procurement of uniforms, shoes, schoolbags etc on Friday. Saikia said that since items meant for school children are supplied to the Anganwadi centres, therefore Sarva Siksha Adhiyan (SSA) FMP guidelines should be followed by the Social Welfare Department as well for the sake of transparency. Both the departments have contravened guidelines mentioned in the SSA Financial Management and Procurement (FMP) Manual of the Government of India regarding procurement of such items, Saikia stated in the letter. The FMP Manual stipulates criteria for procurement of such items upto the amount of Rs 30 lakh which are easy to fulfil by sellers/suppliers registered on the GeM portal. Also Read: Congress Has Not Rejected NRC: Debabrata SaikiaAlso Watch: All Assam Bengali Youth Students' Federation in Biswanath demands error-free NRC.