After the 26/11 terror attacks, the Maharashtra government had gone into overdrive, and embarked upon a major modernisation spree, procuring new weapons and equipment to bring it on par with western countries. However, the much talked about modernisation plan has been bogged down by inordinate delays, late approvals and allegations of corruption due to which crucial equipment is yet to reach the police force.
The Asian Age examines the intricacies involved in procurement of equipment.

Bidders and the tendering system
According to officers, one of the most important difficulties in sealing government deals is the tendering system, as it is rattled with most delays. This is either because of non-participation by private companies when a tender is floated, re-tendering when companies back out/disqualified or allegations of corruption, when contracts are awarded to a firm.
An example in this case being the procurement of bulletproof jackets (see box).
A senior officer with the Maharashtra police said that they had to give an extension for the bulletproof jackets contract in October last year, after two of the five bidders failed the “technical bids”. Technical bid evaluation is that part of the process where documents pertaining to the technical capabilities of the product submitted by the companies, are examined by the government.
The idea behind such evaluation is to check if the products in the said contract satisfy the performance parameters set by the government (in this case the police), in the tender notices.
“On-ground testing was done by the firearms and forensic experts appointed by the police. During this phase, two of the companies failed to meet the performance criteria after it was observed that bullets could penetrate the jacket. This has delayed the procurement process,” said the officer.
Tenders are re-issued when firms fail the test, since this leaves the government with a smaller range of companies/products to choose from.
In case of the bulletproof jacket contracts, the process was delayed further after the sudden fluctuation in international currency rates, when the rupee depreciated against the dollar.
“The bidders had made their calculations on the general trend of the value of the rupee fluctuating between `40 and 45 for $1. It suddenly skyrocketed last year to `55 for $1, which apparently disturbed their financial planning since most of them procure the equipment from US-based firms. They suddenly developed cold feet and were unwilling to participate, which was another reason behind re-issuing the tender,” said the officer.
In another case, the tender for an advanced fingerprint testing system was cancelled last year, when one of the two bidders failed the technical evaluation. “A single vendor system is currently not allowed because of which we had to re-issue the tender,” said the official.
According to additional director general of police (planning and coordination) K.L. Bishnoi, another issue with evaluating tenders is that often expert government evaluators are not available, as they are engaged in other work.
“Most of the advanced equipment is tested at the forensics laboratory in Delhi. They already have enough on their plate and we can’t expect them to expedite the testing process,” he explained. A senior IPS officer privy to the developments also said that one of the important reasons behind delays in clearing purchases is because officers fear being accused of favouritism.

Fund allocation and government procedures
Apart from the tendering system, getting funds released from the government and rules regarding usage of the allocated money also put the brakes on procurement of goods.
Just recently, on September 1 this year, the Mumbai police commissioner floated a second tender for a total containment vehicle (TCV) after the first one was floated on January 10.
The January tender, submission for which was on January 16, had to be cancelled as the tendering process could not be completed before the beginning of the new financial year.
“There was not enough time to complete the tendering process by March 31, 2012 because of which we had to go in for re-tendering,” said special inspector general of police (provisions) Dr Pradnya Saravade.
The late Hasan Gafoor, former police commissioner of Mumbai, also had to cancel an order for a TCV placed with Technograde Impex, after it was revealed that the price of the TCV was double the price of the one sold to Delhi International Airport Limited and Mumbai International Airport Limited. A fresh tender was floated as late as December 8 last year, which is still under process.
The Mumbai police is also yet to receive important communication and surveillance equipment like digital oscilloscopes, communication analysers, frequency scanners and standing wave radio (SWR) meters, which can be used to identify suspicious satellite phone and cell phone communication. Dr Saravade refused to comment on the status of their procurement, citing the sensitive nature of the equipment.
According to Mr Bishnoi, the government asks to return the allocated funds if they are not spent within the stipulated deadline, which is usually two or three months. “The government auditor usually raises questions on unspent funds,” he explained.

Expediting the process
The home department last year merged the equipment categories of Components A and B to enable speedy procurement and also did away with the direct involvement of the state government in the approval process. Proposals over `25 lakh, will no longer have to be sent to the state Cabinet for approval.