Madhya Pradesh has ordered a probe into alleged procurement irregularities after an official review meeting highlighted extreme price differences in purchases made by urban local bodies through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal. The state government has also said it will verify the authenticity of a purported video recording of the meeting.
The review examined purchases made by 374 urban local bodies in the state. According to a presentation cited in the meeting, one urban local body bought a litre of phenolic disinfectant for Rs 33,500, while a similar product was purchased elsewhere for Rs 5. In another case, a 60-watt LED bulb was bought for Rs 11,800 by one local authority, compared with Rs 306 paid by another.
The figures were presented by Anshuman Raj, additional managing director of Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation (MPSEDC), during a review meeting of the urban administration and development department. The presentation examined price gaps in purchases made through the GeM procurement platform.
The 374 urban local bodies together spent around Rs 1,134 crore through GeM over the past three years, the report said. The procurement analysis estimated that approximately Rs 250 crore could have been saved if the goods had been purchased at average rates.
A purported video of the meeting showed Sanjay Dubey, additional chief secretary of the urban administration and development department, warning chief municipality officers that action would be taken if irregularities were found. “Don’t think that you get away with the wrongdoings, if committed. Everything is on my computer. I will take action in the cases of irregularities of purchases by some urban local bodies,” he was heard saying in the video, according to the report.
The disclosure places scrutiny on how municipal bodies use a centralised digital procurement platform and how purchases are reviewed across multiple local authorities. The reported price differences concern routine civic goods, including disinfectants and lighting equipment, which are commonly required for sanitation, public health and municipal operations.
The state government has not yet established that the purchases were fraudulent or that the reported prices resulted from wrongdoing. The authenticity of the video and the circumstances behind the price differences are to be examined as part of the probe.
Madhya Pradesh minister of state for urban administration and development Pratima Bagri said the government would investigate the matter and verify the video. She said action would be taken if irregularities were found. The probe and verification process will determine whether the purchases reflected errors, differences in specifications or supply conditions, procedural failures, or deliberate irregularities.
