Assam Uniform Row: Outside Firms Bag ₹43-Crore School Procurement Contracts

GUWAHATI: A major controversy has erupted in Assam over allegations of low-quality school uniforms being distributed to government school students, sparking intense public debate and raising serious questions over procurement transparency. While Education Minister Ranoj Pegu has defended the department and offered justifications regarding the polyester fabric used, public scrutiny has shifted heavily toward the identity of the suppliers and the sudden exclusion of local Assamese enterprises.

The multi-crore rupee contracts for procuring these uniforms have reportedly been funneled to outside firms, entirely bypassing local contractors and small-scale business owners within the state. According to sources, these lucrative deals have been securely handed over to corporate entities operating out of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. Observers point out a striking disparity in the procurement strategy: while contracts for distributing uniforms to students from Class 1 to Class 8 were left to local state contractors, the high-value contracts for Class 9 and Class 10 students were systematically directed away from local bidders through a series of rigid clauses.

Critics allege that highly specific and stringent eligibility criteria were deliberately introduced for the Class 9 and 10 procurement tenders to effectively lock out Assam’s indigenous businesses. Among these strict regulations was a mandatory condition stipulating that only composite mills that manufacture their own yarn or thread would be eligible to secure the contract. Lacking such massive infrastructure, local and small-scale entrepreneurs across Assam stood no chance of qualifying from any angle, allowing major out-of-state firms to sweep the multi-crore bidding process completely unopposed.

Official work orders issued by Samagra Shiksha Assam on March 15 expose the staggering scale of the financial allocations. On that single day, Kolkata-based Krone Clothing Private Limited was awarded a massive contract to supply 4,75,133 pairs of uniforms valued at 15 crore 39 lakh 43 thousand 92 rupees. Concurrently, a second massive contract went to Padmachand Milapchand Jain of Maharashtra for 4,75,144 pairs of uniforms, totaling 15 crore 39 lakh 46 thousand 656 rupees. A third work order was granted to Kanchan India Limited of Rajasthan to supply 3,88,226 pairs of uniforms, walking away with a contract worth 12 crore 57 lakh 85 thousand 224 rupees.

These figures underscore a wider trend where a combined total of 43 crore 36 lakh 74 thousand 972 rupees was funneled to just three external corporate entities for senior high school uniforms. Despite the Education Minister’s active attempts to counter the building backlash regarding the choice of polyester fabric, the political temperature remains high. Serious questions continue to linger across the state over why local Assamese businesses were aggressively sidelined for these multi-crore contracts in favor of outside corporations, and who will ultimately be held accountable for putting substandard attire on Assam’s school children.