Congress Alleges Tender Irregularities At Ahmedabad's IKDRC, Cites CAG Observations On ₹11.43-Crore Laundry Facility

The Gujarat Congress has alleged irregularities in contracts for laundry, RO systems and air-conditioner servicing at Ahmedabad's Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC), claiming that work worth crores was awarded through quotations instead of e-tenders. Citing observations in a CAG report covering 2023 to 2025, the party also questioned why a ₹11.43-crore in-house laundry facility was allegedly left underutilised while laundry services were outsourced at ₹36 lakh annually.

Congress Questions ₹11.43-Crore Laundry Facility

A Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson alleged that IKDRC spent ₹11.43 crore to set up in-house laundry and kitchen facilities but did not fully utilise the infrastructure.

According to the allegations, laundry facilities were installed in the hospital's new building but remained unused, while laundry operations in the old building were also outsourced.

The Congress claimed that instead of following an e-tendering process for the outsourcing of laundry services, the contract was awarded after inviting quotations. The annual value of the contract was stated to be ₹36 lakh.

The party also questioned the expenditure on the outsourced arrangement, alleging that the hospital bears the cost of electricity and water, provides the premises and owns one of the machines used for the work.

Despite this, the Congress alleged that around ₹3 lakh was being spent every month on washing linen.

Questions Raised Over ₹1.19-Crore RO Material Contract

The Congress also cited CAG observations to raise questions over the procurement of high-value RO materials and related services under the hospital's dialysis programme.

According to the allegations, contracts worth ₹1.19 crore for RO materials and ₹14.76 lakh for RO services were awarded to M/s Clear Ion Exchange Engineers after obtaining three quotations instead of inviting e-tenders.

The party further alleged that the company was subsequently granted an extension to its contract.

The Congress questioned why the quotation process was used for contracts involving such high-value expenditure instead of e-tendering.

₹1.07-Crore AC Contract Under Scanner

The party also raised concerns over a ₹1.07-crore contract for servicing, repairs and replacement of spare parts for air-conditioning systems at IKDRC.

Citing the CAG observations, the Congress alleged that quotations were sought through e-mail instead of conducting an e-tendering process before the work was awarded to Isha Cooling System.

Congress Questions Cost Of Servicing 416 AC Units

According to the Congress, IKDRC has 416 air-conditioning units. It claimed that even if the cost of servicing each AC, including normal and chemical servicing, was calculated at ₹5,000, the total service cost would come to ₹20.80 lakh.

The party questioned whether the remaining ₹86.20 lakh from the ₹1.07-crore contract was spent on repairs and replacement of parts.

It further claimed that the amount was enough to purchase around 172 new AC units, raising questions over the scale of expenditure on repairs and spare parts.

Same Firm Allegedly Received AC Contracts For 17 Years

The Congress also alleged that the work order issued to Isha Cooling System did not specify a fixed contract period and stated that the arrangement would continue until another tender was issued.

The party contrasted this with a minimum three-year period reportedly approved under the tender and questioned the difference between the two arrangements.

It further alleged that Isha Cooling System had been receiving AC-related contracts from IKDRC continuously for the past 17 years.

The Congress said the alleged pattern raised questions about the procurement process and the reasons for the same company continuing to receive such contracts over such a long period.

The allegations are based on claims made by the Gujarat Congress citing observations in the CAG report. A response from IKDRC or the Gujarat government to the allegations was not available in the material provided.