The government on Tuesday announced it will bring a bill to check corruption in procurement of items even as the Group of Ministers (GoM) set up to tackle corruption adopted a report which recommends means to make the procedure more transparent.
After a meeting of the GoM on corruption, law minister Salman Khurshid said the comprehensive public procurement law, clearly demarcating powers and responsibilities of various authorities and ensuring full transparency to reduce corruption is likely to be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament. The GoM is headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The minister said the decision comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s announcement on Independence Day this year on introduction of a bill on public procurement. In February, the Cabinet Secretary had set up a special committee on procurements headed by former Competition Commission of India (CCI) chairman Vinod Dhall to give recommendations on the issue.
The recommendations have emphasised on transparency and putting maximum information in public domain.
The proposed legislation seeks to highlight the importance of appropriate and well-designed procurement policies.