CAG finds faults in the free SIM card scheme to the students
The report further said that state-owned Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu had placed orders through an open tender (January 2021), on four Network Service Providers , such as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
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CHENNAI: The AIADMK government's scheme in January 2021 to distribute free SIM cards with a view to facilitate students to attend online classes conducted by colleges during Covid-19 pandemic might have been welcomed.
However, the CAG, in its report, has clarified that non-adherence to original decision while framing the rules of the scheme amending tender conditions to the advantage of the supplier and delaying implementation of the scheme had resulted in "infructuous" expenditure of Rs 4.93 crore on excess procurement of data SIM cards and an avoidable expenditure of Rs 3.46 crore due to non-synchronisation of data SIM card validity with the academic calendar.
The report further said that state-owned Electronic Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) had placed orders through an open tender (January 2021), on four Network Service Providers (NSPs), such as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and Vodafone Idea Limited, for supply of 9.69 lakh data SIM cards. BSNL was the lowest bidder and the other NSPs agreed to match the price of Rs 92 per month per card plus taxes, quoted by BSNL.
Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu government had sanctioned Rs 43.16 crore for the supply of 9.69 lakh data SIM cards in March 2021.
The CAG noted that out of 9,20,102 data SIM cards supplied, as of April 2022, as many as 1,10,846 SIM cards remained undistributed.
The audit report said that the scheme was originally envisaged as supply of free data SIM cards in January 2021 to aid students in attending online classes from January to April 2021.
It was however seen that 3.11 lakh data SIM cards procurred from different telecom companies were supplied/activated only during March/April 2021, thereby the four month validity of these cards overlapped with the summer vacation of colleges which happens during May/June in the State", the CAG pointed out.
With mistakes having been identified, the CAG audit recommends that circumstances leading to procurement of excess number of data SIM cards and procurement of different numbers of data SIM cards without specific rationale should be enquired and responsibility fixed and the government should direct ELCOT to immediately refund Rs 3.26 crore retained by it.