The controversy over excess payment of rates for one lakh rapid test kits for Covid-19 imported by Andhra Pradesh has landed the state government in an embarrassing situation.
The health department officials gave contradictory figures on the price at which rapid test kits were imported from South Korea.
Senior officials openly told the media persons that the state government was importing the kits at a rate of Rs 1200 per unit, as against the market price of Rs 2500 in other countries.
After the consignment of Coronavirus rapid test kits arrived in the state, the officials gave a different figure, after the Chhattisgarh government claimed that it had bought each kit at Rs 337. The official clarified to the media that each kit had cost only Rs 640 and not Rs 1200.
But within hours, the government claimed on the ArogyaAndhra twitter that each kit was bought at Rs 700. Naturally, the opposition parties, particularly the TDP, sought to politicise the issue and allege that a lot of corruption was involved in it.
It was only on Sunday evening that health commissioner K Bhaskar and managing director AP Medical Infrastructure Development Corporation V Vijayarama Raju tried to defend the government.
Bhaskar said the state had imported rapid test kits from South Korea, while Chhattisgarh had bought them from the local branch of South Korean company.
“When we placed an order, the South Korean company’s Indian unit had not got permission to supply rapid test kits. Hence, the difference in the price rate,” he said.
The commissioner, however, said there was a clause in the agreement that if any state had bought the kits at a lesser rate, the other states, too, pay the same price.
“So, we shall also pay the same rate being paid by Chhattisgarh government,” Bhaskar said.