Committee to review govt’s smoke detectors purchase after allegations of inflated prices

The probe was initiated after RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar wrote to medical education secretary Dheeraj Kumar and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, as reported by HT on November 6, arguing that each unit should cost no more than ₹50,000

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) has constituted a committee to scrutinise a major procurement of 839 smoke detectors for three hospitals, after complaints surfaced, alleging grossly inflated pricing and questionable classification of high-end DETEX ductless autonomous smoke detector–cum–extraction units.

Committee to review govt’s smoke detectors purchase after allegations of inflated prices

The action follows a government resolution (GR) issued on November 4, which contained plans to procure 839 DETEX units at ₹9.54 lakh each — a price activists say is nearly 20 times the market rate. The total order, worth ₹79.10 crore, had been cleared on the grounds that the equipment was a single-source product available only from one vendor. According to the GR, the units were to be supplied to Sassoon General Hospital, Pune (350 units), KEM Hospital, Mumbai (136 units), and Solapur Super Speciality Hospital (353 units) — all through the same company.

The probe was initiated after RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar wrote to medical education secretary Dheeraj Kumar and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, as reported by HT on November 6, arguing that each unit should cost no more than ₹50,000.

Subsequently, in a letter dated November 6, the Medical Education and Drugs Department noted that while administrative approval had been granted, serious objections had been raised regarding the device’s classification and quoted cost, which the department said could be closer to ₹4 crore for an entire system, not ₹79 crore. The letter also instructed the DMER commissioner to constitute an inquiry committee, appoint technical experts and conduct a detailed verification process before any work order or payment is executed.

“Until the review is complete, the government has temporarily suspended the decision,” said a senior official of the department. The secretary has directed the committee to conduct a thorough examination of the single-source claims, including certificates and documents submitted by the supplier.

However, activists remain sceptical about the credibility of the process. “Committees like these are often just formalities. Nothing happens to the people responsible,” said Kumbhar. “Those who approved the proposal are now the ones examining it. That’s a clear conflict of interest. Citizens have no way of knowing what happens inside internal committees.”

The committee has also been asked to gather supply orders, invoices and commissioning reports from institutions within and outside Maharashtra that have purchased similar equipment earlier, along with utilisation records from medical colleges and government hospitals.

Secretary Dheeraj Kumar said the technical justification provided by DMER will be assessed to determine whether the device qualifies as a genuine single-source product. “Only after all details are submitted and verified at the government level will the proposal be reconsidered,” he said.

Kumbhar said the department should have verified market rates before forwarding such an expensive proposal. “When you estimate an inflated cost for a device, how does that not raise an immediate issue?” he said.

Social activist Chetan Kamble said, “The government’s own letter now confirms what we have been saying from day one — a ₹4-crore requirement was cleared as an ₹80-crore purchase without proper verification.” When a department has to halt its own GR, freeze payments, and demand 16 layers of scrutiny, it shows how serious the irregularities are, he said. “The public deserves to know who approved a ₹50,000 device for ₹9.43 lakh and why such basic checks were ignored,” he added.

A senior DMER official confirmed that procurement has been paused. “The committee’s report will determine the next course of action,” the official said.