Chandigarh, December 15 – The meeting of the High Powered Purchase Committee (HPPC) chaired by Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal today approved the purchase of goods to be procured by various departments worth about Rs. 663 crores.

Education Minister, Sh. Kanwar Pal, Transport Minister, Sh. Mool Chand Sharma, Power Minister, Sh. Ranjit Singh, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Sh. JP Dalal, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Sh. Anoop Dhanak, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Sh. T.V.S.N Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, School Education, Dr. Mahavir Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Sh. Anand Mohan Sharan, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. V Umashankar, Chairman, Power Corporations, Sh. P.K. Das and many senior officers also remained present on this occasion.

Later addressing the media persons, Sh. Manohar Lal while divulging the meeting details said that approval has been accorded for the purchase of books for the students of classes I to V and VI to VIII for the upcoming academic session. Besides, approval has been given for the purchase of toys and books for children enrolled in playway schools.

The purchase of 152 Bolero vehicles for the Police, Agriculture and Irrigation Department has also been approved by the Committee.  Besides this, the purchase of fortified rice for the Food and Supplies Department has also been approved, shared Sh. Manohar Lal.

The Chief Minister said that all the purchases were made in a transparent manner while holding detailed discussions with the vendors directly, thus saving about Rs 20-22 crore from the said purchases.

The Chief Minister said that the Supply and Disposal Department's procurement work is directly linked to finance, so the Supply and Disposal Department has been merged with the Finance department.