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Opposition raises heat as firms linked to minister, MLA bag food contract
Brisk India Pvt Ltd, in a joint venture with Kailas Food and Kirana General Stores, has bagged the contract for Latur, Amaravati and Nagpur
Two private firms, first allegedly linked to a Maharashtra minister and another with a legislator from the ruling party, are currently in the eye of storm over bagging contract from social welfare department for supplying food to students from hostel and school.
After the Eknath Shinde government awarded the contract, members of the Opposition parties have raised questions that a firm, previously embroiled into controversy and targeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the past, is back in the business.
Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Rohit Pawar on Tuesday alleged that the firm Brisk India Private Limited linked to Hasan Mushrif, minister for medical education, has got the contract. According to Pawar, during the MVA government, the BJP had accused Brisk India of money laundering related to a private sugar factory.
“Now the same company has got the contract of supplying meal to students from social welfare department run hostels and residential schools. Will the BJP now offer apology to people for fooling people just because it was politically convenient,” said Pawar.
Brisk India Pvt Ltd, in a joint venture with Kailas Food and Kirana General Stores, has bagged the contract for Latur, Amaravati and Nagpur. The company was in the news last year after the Enforcement Directorate raided it to probe the links between it and NCP leader Hasan Mushrif. The raids happened after BJP leader Kirit Somaiya filed a complaint alleging that Mushrif was involved in a ₹100-crore corruption case in the Appasaheb Nalawade sugar factory at Gadhinglaj which was taken over by Brisk India Private Limited in 2014. Three months ago, Mushrif, along with Ajit Pawar, joined the Maharashtra government and was made medical education minister.
“Neither I or my son-in-law or anyone is associated with Brisk India company. If the charges are proved, I will resign as minister and retire from politics,” said Mushrif while responding to Rohit’s allegations.
Crystal Integrated Services Pvt Ltd (CISPL), a company associated with BJP MLC Prasad Lad, has bagged the contract for Mumbai and Pune in a joint venture with Crystal Gourmet Pvt Ltd. CISPL was one of the aforementioned nine politician-associated companies appointed by the state government to hire staff on a contractual basis. The contracts were later scrapped following charges that hiring contractual staff would deny employment to the socially backward communities which get reservation in government jobs.
Prasad Lad did not respond to calls and text messages.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also raised objection over the social welfare department’s decision to giving the contract to provide food for residential schools to firms associated with minister and MLA.
Vijay Kumbhar, Maharashta state vice-president, Aam Aadmi Party, said, “The state government has approved the bids for those companies which are related to leaders belonging to two parties in power. The probe of one of the companies is already underway by Enforcement Director (ED). Earlier, the BJP had made allegations against the firm and people associated with it, but changed its stance once the same leaders joined their government.”
In Maharashtra, the BJP shares power with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction).
As per the circular issued on Monday, Brisk India in joint partnership with another firm has bagged the contract for three divisions – Latur, Amravati and Nagpur - for the period of one year starting November. There are around 443 hostels and 93 residential schools run by social welfare department across the state.
The order issued on Monday says the contractors will be paid in the range of ₹5,218 to ₹5,390 per student per month. As of now, 43,000 students live in these hostels and schools, and the department will pay around ₹226.60 crore to the suppliers for 10 months.
An official from the department said that as per the one-year contract, the suppliers would have to provide milk in tetra packs, and healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian students. “The contract could be extended to three years later,” he said.
As per the provisions in the contract, the company which has bagged the contract can sub-contract the project to others.
According to Kumbhar, one of the firms that bagged the contract had earlier participated in the tender process of rural development department and after the AAP filed a complaint, the chief minister had scraped the ₹1,200-crore bidding process.
“We have written to the chief minister seeking an inquiry in the tender process,” he said.
The tender to award contracts for providing food to students of residential schools and hostels has been floated at the state level for the first time as earlier it used to carried out at the district level.
“The question remains that whether these companies have the capacity to provide food at the state level. If it is decentralised, students would get good food quality and local people will get employment,” said Kumbhar.
