Purchase of equipment: Activist alleges SPPU tech dept overpaid

In response to these allegations, SPPU said that prima facie prescribed procedures seem to have been followed in the procurement. However, an inquiry into the transaction will be conducted by the university.

In the first tender, a UPS machine with 2 hours of backup was purchased for Rs 3.78 lakh each while in the second tender two UPS machines with 15 minutes back up and Power Distribution Units (PDUs) were purchased for a whopping 35.09 lakh each. This is a difference of over Rs 31 lakh per machine.

Further, in the first tender, a CCTV surveillance system was purchased for Rs 1.31 lakh while in the second tender four CCTV-DVR (cpplus) were purchased for Rs 10.2 lakh each. Similar variation in pricing of Access Control Systems and Fire Detection systems is also seen in the documents.

In the second tender, two three-ton air-conditioning units have been purchased for an unusual amount of Rs 24 lakh each. Velankir said, “The information I have received through RTI is very shocking. And it is clear that the purchase made for the project received in one of the tenders was made at an exorbitant price.”

These allegations were first raised in September by SPPU Senate Member Vinayak Ambekar at the bi-annual Senate meeting citing a CAG report titled ‘Inspection report on the audit of office of the Vice-Chancellor, Pune University, Pune (renamed as Savitribai Phule Pune University).

SPPU’s statement in response to the allegations shared on Wednesday said, “Allegations of errors and violations of rules in Technical Procurement by the Department of Technology at Savitribai Phule Pune University in 2019 have been raised. Prima facie, various prescribed procedures of the university were followed in the procurement. However, taking cognizance of these allegations, the university administration is conducting a thorough inquiry of the issue. The administration makes it clear that once the verification process is completed, appropriate action will be taken based on the findings, without any compromise.”