YSRC Alleges TTD Relaxed Medicine Tender Norms to Favour Suppliers
Former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy alleged that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams eased eligibility norms for medicine procurement tenders to benefit select suppliers and sought an inquiry.
YSRC senior leader and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy has alleged that the TTD trust board relaxed eligibility norms for the procurement of medicines and medical consumables to favour certain suppliers.
Addressing a press conference in Tirupati on Monday, Karunakar Reddy demanded an inquiry into the decision. He alleged that the revised eligibility criteria could allow firms supplying substandard medicines and medical consumables to participate in the tender process.
He said the revised norms relate to the procurement of medicines, injections, surgical consumables and other medical items for the BIRRD Trust Hospital, Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (Svims) and Sri Padmavathi Children’s Heart Centre.
Karunakar Reddy alleged that suppliers were earlier required to have an annual turnover of about `100 crore to qualify for the tenders. According to him, the TTD board reduced the minimum turnover requirement to `25 crore for medicines and injections, `15 crore for surgical and other hospital consumables, and `10 crore for authorised distributors and importers.
Referring to the TTD’s explanation that the revised norms were intended to encourage wider participation and improve competition, Karunakar Reddy alleged that the changes were instead made to benefit selected suppliers.
He further claimed that a TTD board member associated with a pharmaceutical company had opposed the proposal during the board meeting, but her objections were ignored before the decision was approved.
Karunakar Reddy said procurement procedures followed by institutions such as AIIMS should be adopted to ensure transparency. He sought an inquiry into the role of the committee headed by BIRRD director Dr G. Jagadish in recommending the changes to the tender conditions.
He maintained that there should be no compromise on the quality of medicines and medical supplies and demanded an inquiry into the decision, urging the government to take action if any irregularities were established.