Raman Singh flags off e-procurement

Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh said that the e-procurement project would be a profitable deal for the state as it would not only bring transparency but also save huge money of state exchequer by releasing purchase order and payment through on-line.

"For the development of nascent state of Chhattisgarh, it is a big achievement and all credits go to Chhattisgarh Infotech & Biotech Promotion Society (CHiPS) as the nodal agency for implementing the project," Singh said after inaugurating it here today.

With the formal launch of the project, Chhattisgarh became the second state in the country after Andhra Pradesh to implement it statewide.

The project would be implemented on a pilot basis in the departments of public works, water resources, public health engineering and health as well as the Chhattisgarh state industrial development corporation.

It would be implemented in rest of the departments in five years.

The project was on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The private partner would implement the solution on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) mode.

Wipro, which bid in consortium with NexTenders India, was the private partner in the project.

Singh said the project would become a model in the country.

At present, it would be applicable for purchases worth more than Rs 50 lakh.

Later small suppliers and contractors could avail the benefit of the on-line system.

Singh called for training of suppliers, contractors and officials using the system, as it was a new concept in the state.

The e-tendering system introduced two years ago had given good results and tenders for official works had seen lower rates thanks to it.

Chhattisgarh minister for revenue Brijmohan Agrawal, minister for health Amar Agrawal, and Raipur Mayor Sunil Soni were present at the launch, where ChiPS CEO Aman Singh outlined its advantages.