The Karnataka government has decided to order a departmental inquiry into the supply of substandard material for uniforms of government school students during the academic years 2021-23 under Vidya Vikas project by the Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation (KHDC) during the previous BJP government.
The probe will be done by the Department of Commerce and Industries.
Briefing on the decisions taken at a State Cabinet meeting presided by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil said handloom weavers supplied 1.34 crore metres of good cloth. However, the quality of fabric supplied by KHDC was substandard. The work order was issued to supply cloth of ₹144 crore, out of which ₹117 crore was paid. The cloth supplied, worth ₹54.8 crore, was of poor quality. The release of ₹26 crore had been kept on hold. However, it was decided to release ₹14.48 crore to weavers who supplied good cloth to KHDC, Mr. Patil said.
