Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday alleged that ground is being prepared in the Kerala’s Cooperation department for a major scam in connection with the development of a ‘uniform software solution’ for 4,415 primary agriculture cooperative credit society (PACS) branches in the State.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Chennithala said that the original decision to award the contract to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for ₹206 crore was cancelled and a fresh tender was invited under mysterious circumstances. The CPI(M)-led LDF government is attempting to award the work to Kannur-based Kerala Dinesh Beedi Workers’ Central Cooperative Society Ltd which has quoted ₹58 crore for providing the software solution to 280 cooperatives, he said.
Kerala Assembly elections: Congress reiterates LDF-NDA ‘secret deal’ claims
At that rate, equipping all 4,415 cooperative society branches would cost around ₹914 crore, resulting in a loss of ₹700 crore to the State when compared to the amount quoted by TCS, Mr. Chennithala alleged.
The Cooperation department had issued orders accepting the TCS’s single tender for the work in September 2023. The financial bid was approved through a government order dated April 2024. Mr. Chennithala’s allegation is that the LDF government decided to cancel this tender and in inviting fresh bids, had reframed the conditions in such a manner that reputed firms such as TCS would not be eligible to apply.
