COVID-19 in Andamans: Lieutenant-Governor seeks more emergency spending powers
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Union Finance Ministry says discuss to Home Ministry; islands’ administration had flagged acute scarcity and surging costs of COVID-19 provides
Following a plea from the Andaman and Nicobar islands’ administration to chill out the ₹10-crore restrict on the Lieutenant Governor’s energy to authorise direct emergency purchases amid an acute scarcity of important COVID-19 provides, the Union Finance Ministry has requested the Port Blair high brass to take up the difficulty with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Finance Ministry has, nonetheless, granted a one-month rest to the islands’ administration from a number of guidelines pertaining to procurement in the General Financial Rules, stating that procurement delays amid an unprecedented nationwide well being emergency would consequence in lack of lives of residents.
Last Thursday, the Chief Secretary of the Andaman & Nicobar Administration had written to the Centre about ‘an acute shortage of essential COVID-19-related supplies, particularly of medical oxygen’. He had stated they’re ‘facing tremendous challenges in procuring supplies’ because of the islands’ distinctive geographical location.
Given these challenges and ‘the obvious surge in prices’ of important COVID-19-related provides, the administration had sought flexibility in following the General Financial Rules (GFR) for not less than one month, together with dropping the requirement to make sure ‘reasonability’ of costs. The Centre was urged to allow procurement from totally different sources at totally different charges by means of totally different procurement strategies.
The Chief Secretary had additionally sought a rest in the powers for direct emergency purchases and negotiated contracts as per the powers delegated to the Lieutenant Governor, from the present restrict of ₹10 crore.
In a missive to the islands’ high brass on Friday, the Department of Expenditure in the Finance Ministry stated: “With regard to the request to relax the powers for direct emergency purchase/negotiated contract of the Hon’ble Lt. Governor from the current limit of ₹10 crore, the Andaman & Nicobar Administration is requested to place this before the Competent Authority in MHA for consideration.”
The UT administration’s calls for for stress-free the applicability of the monetary guidelines had been broadly accepted, in line with the same rest granted on April 24 for COVID-19 procurements to be undertaken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Department of Pharmaceuticals and the Department of Defence Research and Development.
“Being a national health emergency of unprecedented and historic scale, delays in procurement will result in loss of lives of citizens. Hence there is a paramount public interest in ensuring that the necessary supplies are procured in the fastest possible manner and financial procedures have to adapt accordingly,” famous the workplace memorandum from the Finance Ministry.
“Considering the unique geography of the A&N Islands and also that medical supplies have to be made available on all inhabited islands in quick times, it is acknowledged that the UT administration must be finding it very challenging to make procurement and deliver it to the place where such supplies would be needed. The difficult for the Union Territory’s administration to make such procurement in terms of price, availability and timely delivery has also been considered,” it added.
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