The Times of India              03.10.2013 

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation plans quality check of shoes, socks

PUNE: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will get a quality test done of the samples of shoes and socks supplied by a contractor for students of municipal schools.

The members of the municipal school board have complained that they are of inferior quality. While the members had earlier decided to lodge a complaint against the supplier, they later said that the samples will first be sent for a quality test.

Asha Ubale, education officer, primary education department in the PCMC, said, "The municipal school board provides free shoes and socks to the students of primary schools every year. It had allotted the contract to a supplier to deliver shoes and socks to as many as 50,000 students from 136 municipal primary schools amounting to Rs 90 lakh. But, we have received complaints against the quality of the supplied products from three schools. This was brought to the notice of the municipal commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi and additional commissioner Tanaji Shinde.''

Shirish Jadhav, one of the members of the school board, said according to the specifications of the contract, the supplier was supposed to get shoes and socks of a reputed brand. "He supplied products of inferior quality. Moreover, the contractor supplied the items after the expiry of the supply period to as many as 35 schools," he said.

Jadhav said during inspection, the members of the school board found that the contractor is supplying items of inferior quality. They alleged that the contractor has been supplying school items to the civic schools for 12 years now. He also supplies these products to schools of other civic bodies, the members added.