BMC Plan to Buy Tablets for 237 Corporators Hits GeM Procurement Hurdle
A proposal to provide tablet devices to all 237 corporators in Mumbai has hit a procurement hurdle, with the civic administration facing difficulties in purchasing the devices through the central Government e-Marketplace portal.
According to a BJP functionary, the tablets proposed to be purchased are of Chinese make. Since these particular Chinese-manufactured tablets are reportedly not listed for procurement through the GeM portal, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is finding it difficult to move forward with the purchase through the official government system.
The BMC had in recent months decided to procure all of the civic body's requirements through GeM, the central government's public procurement platform used by state departments and local bodies to buy goods and services online.
The initiative to supply digital devices covers all 227 elected corporators along with 10 nominated corporators. However, the proposal has drawn opposition from the Shiv Sena (UBT), which questioned the necessity of the civic body incurring expenditure on devices for elected representatives.
At present, the civic administration prints and distributes large volumes of paper documents for its monthly general House meetings as well as sessions of various statutory and special committees.
These panels include the standing committee, education committee, improvements committee, ward committees, works committee for the city, works committee for the suburbs, women and child welfare committee, law and revenue committee, and the health committee.
