No scam, textbooks bought at lower rates, claims Sood; AAP wants penalty for supply delay

New Delhi: A day after AAP alleged irregularities in Delhi govt’s procurement of school textbooks, education minister Ashish Sood Saturday rejected the charges, claiming that govt had bought a Class-VIII Hindi textbook for Rs 28.60 against the Rs 65 book cited by AAP.He also accused the opposition party of misleading the public by making allegations without verifying procurement rates and tender specifications, describing the allegations as an example of what he called its “hoot and shoot” politics.One of the principal allegations concerned the procurement of Malhar, the Class-VIII Hindi textbook. AAP had questioned govt’s purchase price in comparison with the prices at which the book was available from National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).Sood said Delhi govt had procured Malhar for Rs 28.60 per copy, substantially below the Rs 65 book cited by AAP. He further claimed that under the previous AAP govt in 2022, a Griha Vigyan textbook of comparable dimensions was printed for Rs 55 per copy.The minister also referred to two letters dated Aug 17 and Sept 6, 2023, and issued by the then education secretary, which, Sood said, raised concerns about the quality of printing and textbooks supplied during the previous govt’s tenure. He claimed that these records contradicted AAP’s criticism of the current procurement process.Responding to the allegations concerning their dimensions, Sood cited the tender specifications, which prescribed a size of 17.1cm x 24.1cm (A4/standard format). He maintained that the dimensions were consistent with those followed in previous years and could be measured using scales, which were distributed at his news conference.Sood also explained that NCERT had increased the size of its textbooks this year, but the tender for the current academic year was issued last year, when the earlier specifications were in place.Responding to allegations of 40% commission, Sood said, “Tell lies, make false claims of 40% commission, and run away. They don’t even know the price of a single book, yet they claim a scam.” He claimed that a “60% commission business” ran during AAP’s tenure, “which would be exposed soon”.Refuting AAP’s claim of higher textbook costs, the minister claimed that textbook prices had declined across several classes, despite inflation. According to figures presented by Sood, the highest price for a Class VIII textbook was Rs 110 under the previous govt in 2022, compared with Rs 50.40 under the current procurement. For Class VII, he cited a reduction from Rs 103 to Rs 75.90, while for Class VI, he claimed the corresponding prices had fallen from Rs 133 to Rs 57.80.Responding to Sood’s clarification, AAP said the minister had acknowledged that the books were smaller than NCERT textbooks, and demanded that Sood make public the file proposing penalties against the vendor for delays in supplying the books.AAP also said Delhi govt should get the paper quality tested at a laboratory and bring the truth out in public.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in DelhiStay updated with the latest Delhi news. Download the TOI App.