Text Book Corporation leaves Rs 2 crore in paper purchase

Education Minister Brijmohan Aggarwal said – will not tolerate commission taking

Raipur : In Chhattisgarh, the printing of books is done by the Text Book Corporation to provide free books to the children. Earlier there have been allegations of corruption in the purchase of paper in this work. To end this corruption, the new Education Minister of the state and BJP leader Shri Brijmohan Aggarwal issued new guidelines. A saving of Rs 2 crore has been achieved in the purchases made by following these guidelines.

Till now, tender was floated every year for the purchase of paper in the Text Book Corporation and then the purchase was done on the basis of minimum rates. In this process, the market was not informed about what the actual price of the paper in question was in the open market. Vendors supplying paper at low rates often supplied low quality paper, resulting in students receiving poor quality text books. Larger companies had more ability to supply paper at lower rates than smaller companies, making it difficult for smaller companies to compete.
Brijmohan Aggarwal, Kuldeep Sharma, Managing Director of Text Book Corporation, conducted a market survey of 250 GSM thick paper for the cover pages of books. And along with this, its open tender was also floated. The minimum purchase rate for the year 2024-25 was fixed at Rs 97 thousand 500 per metric ton.
Whereas in the year 2023-24, 250 GSM paper was purchased through tender at the rate of Rs 1 lakh 17 thousand per metric ton. This time 5 new firms participated in the tender. None of the old firms took part in the tender, which used to supply paper to the Text Book Corporation at higher rates. That means instead of the price increasing this year, the price of paper of the same thickness and same quality decreased.
According to officials, the old suppliers were pressurizing them to code the rates on the basis of market rates. But following the instructions and strictness of the Education Minister, he did not agree and a fair and transparent method was adopted in the entire process. Due to which a total of Rs 2 crores were saved in the purchases made by the Text Book Corporation.

In fact, during the Congress tenure, paper was purchased in the Text Book Corporation at a rate higher than the market, in which a lot of commission was charged. After Brijmohan Aggarwal became the Education Minister, he had given instructions to adopt new procedures and conduct market survey to stop corruption and commission. Education Minister Brijmohan Aggarwal has said that after the cover pages of books, now the same process will be followed in the purchase of pages, through which the minimum rate will be determined on the basis of market price after a market survey. Due to which the corporation will save approximately Rs 15 crore.
Minister Aggarwal said that this initiative is an important step towards eliminating corruption and bringing transparency in the education department. This saving is a big achievement for the education department. This money will be used in other areas of education such as improving the infrastructure of schools, and providing better education to students.

Text Book Corporation leaves Rs 2 crore in paper purchase

Education Minister Brijmohan Aggarwal said – will not tolerate commission taking

Raipur : In Chhattisgarh, the printing of books is done by the Text Book Corporation to provide free books to the children. Earlier there have been allegations of corruption in the purchase of paper in this work. To end this corruption, the new Education Minister of the state and BJP leader Shri Brijmohan Aggarwal issued new guidelines. A saving of Rs 2 crore has been achieved in the purchases made by following these guidelines.

Till now, tender was floated every year for the purchase of paper in the Text Book Corporation and then the purchase was done on the basis of minimum rates. In this process, the market was not informed about what the actual price of the paper in question was in the open market. Vendors supplying paper at low rates often supplied low quality paper, resulting in students receiving poor quality text books. Larger companies had more ability to supply paper at lower rates than smaller companies, making it difficult for smaller companies to compete.
Brijmohan Aggarwal, Kuldeep Sharma, Managing Director of Text Book Corporation, conducted a market survey of 250 GSM thick paper for the cover pages of books. And along with this, its open tender was also floated. The minimum purchase rate for the year 2024-25 was fixed at Rs 97 thousand 500 per metric ton.
Whereas in the year 2023-24, 250 GSM paper was purchased through tender at the rate of Rs 1 lakh 17 thousand per metric ton. This time 5 new firms participated in the tender. None of the old firms took part in the tender, which used to supply paper to the Text Book Corporation at higher rates. That means instead of the price increasing this year, the price of paper of the same thickness and same quality decreased.
According to officials, the old suppliers were pressurizing them to code the rates on the basis of market rates. But following the instructions and strictness of the Education Minister, he did not agree and a fair and transparent method was adopted in the entire process. Due to which a total of Rs 2 crores were saved in the purchases made by the Text Book Corporation.

In fact, during the Congress tenure, paper was purchased in the Text Book Corporation at a rate higher than the market, in which a lot of commission was charged. After Brijmohan Aggarwal became the Education Minister, he had given instructions to adopt new procedures and conduct market survey to stop corruption and commission. Education Minister Brijmohan Aggarwal has said that after the cover pages of books, now the same process will be followed in the purchase of pages, through which the minimum rate will be determined on the basis of market price after a market survey. Due to which the corporation will save approximately Rs 15 crore.
Minister Aggarwal said that this initiative is an important step towards eliminating corruption and bringing transparency in the education department. This saving is a big achievement for the education department. This money will be used in other areas of education such as improving the infrastructure of schools, and providing better education to students.