Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Congress has accused the Education Department of a Rs 112 crore scam in the purchase of laptops for government schools. The party’s student wing leader, A. Ravichandra, has called for the cancellation of tenders, a stop to the procurement process, and a CBI investigation into the alleged irregularities. The government is said to be acquiring 27,672 laptops for computer labs in 3,500 government high schools.
Allegations suggest that the contracts were awarded in a way that favored private contractors, with 70% of the supply going to Shanbe and 30% to Celkon after relaxing tender norms. It is claimed that the government is buying laptops for Rs 89,000 each, despite them being available in the market for Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000, resulting in an overpayment of nearly Rs 40,000 per laptop. This alleged discrepancy has led to a purported loss of around Rs 112 crore to the public treasury.
Ravichandra criticized the government for not adhering to the Central government’s Make in India and Government e-Marketplace (GeM) guidelines. He highlighted that the Assam Education Department procured laptops with similar specifications for Rs 38,501 through GeM, raising questions about why Andhra Pradesh is paying more than double that amount. The YSR Congress leader demanded transparency in the tender process and explanations from Education Minister Nara Lokesh regarding the significant price difference.
