Bengaluru: The recent gazette notification issued by the state revenue department calling for e-procurement of all the commodities required for temples to bring in transparency had evoked widespread criticism and the government had to make changes.
Temple insiders and revenue department officials said e-procurement of flowers and pooja commodities was not a solution to bring in transparency.
“Any bidder from anywhere can win the auction in an e-procurement system. The quantity of pooja material is decided based on the turnout of devotees, which will vary from day to day,” an officer said. Moreover they are skeptical about how e-procurement will work for perishable goods.
The notification was issued following complaints that procurement made by the temple administrations at the local level is filled with complaints of nepotism and corruption. As per the decision it was decided to include even flowers under the e-procurement.
According to the few temple officials and sources in the Muzrai department, following the directions over e-procurement they started to face hurdles in getting flowers and other commodities like incense sticks, and other things required for puja purposes.
“Earlier we used to get all the commodities locally and on time. It is impossible to determine the quantity of products well in advance. As suppliers are finalised through e-procurement, local suppliers started to decline our needs at the time of emergencies,” informed a temple officer.
However after many complaints regarding e-procurement, the department has now decided to go back to the old system. As per the recent circular issued by the Revenue department, flowers and other necessary puja items are kept out of the e-procurement system. This means now temples can buy the commodities locally.
According to sources in the revenue department, there were complaints related to the local procurement system where some people were making huge benefits. “We thought e-procurement will solve this problem. But it was not received well. So we are going back to the old system,” said an officer who is in touch with developments.
