SSA's scandal of school bags and stationery
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 30 2011 -
The Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan's authority has been caught pants down while giving supply orders for school bags, stationery and school shoes.
As far as supply orders for stationery and school shoes were concerned the SSA authority had awarded the works to non registered firms.
Such were the shortcomings in their execution of plans to feed their greed that they chose to deal with establishments which would leave no tell tale signs if they simply vapourised overnight. All the perfumes of Arabia cannot remove the stench from their hands.
A look at facts and figures clearly shows the scale of how much the SSA authority had muddied its fingers in this sordid drama. The SSA had awarded the Sujata Sarkar Company, based in West Bengal to supply school bags.
The SSA had sanctioned ' 45,76,000 to the company in December, 2010. Subsequently the SSA sanctioned ' 30,99,504 and ' 29,71,280 on January, 29, 2011.
Ultimately the Manipur Students' Federation (MSF) after checks and cross checks found out that the Sujata Sarkar Company was a fake and that in fact, the bags supplied in its name was manufactured by two local manufacturing units, namely Ken Bag Industries of Thangmeiband and M/s Monalisa of Paona Bazar.
Over and above this the SSA had paid, for stationery, ' 24,43,192 to Pooja Stationery Store on December 29, 2010 and ' 22,67,769 to Manipur Paper Emporium on March 29,2010.
And there was no stopping. The mindless spending spree continued and an amount of ' 21,30,860 was sanctioned for Pooja Shoes, Paona Bazar to supply school shoes. All three business terms are unregistered firms. Pooja Shoes however has declared that it has nothing to do with the SSA.
Added together these figures amount a staggering sum. We have to see the SSA authority's misdeeds from the background of the Government of India's declared aim to provide free education and facilities to those who need them.
One feels that a good way to really expose the corruption of the SSA authority is to paste their pictures at every nook and corner of the state detailing their criminal abuse of authority.
On the other hand, since the Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan is a central sponsored scheme, perhaps its misdeeds could come under the jurisdiction of the CBI.
It seems that the lure of corruption in Manipur is a terrible itch on which you have to lay your hands, and until you get caught you derive a frenzied ecstasy.
That these characters have been exposed is of great comfort. And towards this end the MSF deserves a praise.
There is just one question to be asked through, if Ken Bag and M/s Monalisa had been making bags for Sujata Sarkar Company, who has been making bags for Ken Bag and M/s Monalisa?
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