Delhi govt hospitals get notice; asked to stop floating independent tenders

Delhi's Central Procurement Agency has ordered hospitals to cease independent tenders to maintain uniform pricing and avoid procurement complications.

The Delhi government’s Central Procurement Agency (CPA) – a body responsible for procuring medical equipment and supplies for government hospitals – has issued a notice directing hospitals to stop floating independent tenders, as this could lead to non-uniform pricing.

The notice specifically named the hospitals that initiated bids for equipment such as operating tables, laparoscopic surgery systems, orthopaedic implants, operating theatre lights and radiofrequency generators without routing them through the CPA.

In the notice issued on February 1 and seen by HT, the CPA noted that several government hospitals were independently processing and finalising bids at their own level, in violation of explicit directions issued by the Delhi health minister, Pankaj Kumar Singh, of routing all tenders only through the CPA.

“It has come to the notice of the undersigned that various hospitals are independently floating, processing, and finalising bids at their own level, which is in contravention of the explicit directions issued by the Minister of Health, wherein it has been clearly ordered that all tenders shall be finalised exclusively through the CPA,” read the notice.

The notice specifically named the hospitals that initiated bids for equipment such as operating tables, laparoscopic surgery systems, orthopaedic implants, operating theatre lights and radiofrequency generators without routing them through the CPA.

The notice underlined that “strict orders have already been issued by the CPA, directing all hospitals and allied institutions not to undertake any tendering activity independently.”

“Despite these clear instructions, instances have been observed that hospitals have proceeded bids/e-tenders with tender finalisation at their own without routing through the CPA,” it added.

Flagging the consequences of parallel procurement, the CPA cautioned that such actions are likely to create serious administrative and financial complications, result in non-uniform rates, lead to duplication of procurement efforts, and create an overall mess of the centralised procurement system envisaged by the government.

The agency said it is currently finalising rate contracts for all required items for the concerned hospitals.