An event was held. Five months later, a tender was floated for that event. How could that happen, and what does Himanta Biswa Sarma’s family have to do with it?
The Assam government paid Rs 25 (Rs 37 with GST) to a firm for each 200-ml bottle of sanitiser it ordered. To another, with links to Himanta Biswa Sarma, it paid Rs 231 for every 500-ml bottle and Rs 100.30 for every 100-ml bottle – Rs 137 and Rs 81 more per bottle respectively if the former firm's rates were to be applied.
RTI responses show inconsistencies in the prices of PPE kits supplied to Assam's National Health Mission. Several companies linked to the Sarma family also have common, Kolkata-based investors.
The orders to firms owned by Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife and his family's business associate were given in spite of prices quoted above others, RTI replies have shown. As one firm failed to deliver the required number of kits, its contribution was turned into a 'CSR' activity.