Gandhinagar: The purported scam in the purchase of 32,000 tons of paper for textbooks by the Gujarat State School Textbook Board has been averted after Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel accepted the recommendation made in the probe report submitted by Education Secretary Dr Vinod Rao that the purchase should not proceed.

Despite the lowest price of paper being Rs 87.05 in other departments of the state government, the Gujarat State School Textbook Board approved the tender for the purchase of paper at Rs 108.80 per kg, resulting in an additional payment of Rs 22 per kg for the paper.

After this scam-in-progress came to light, CM Patel asked Dr. Vinod Rao to probe into this. Dr. Rao submitted a report recommending the purchase be dropped. CM Patel has approved the recommendation. However, 5,000 tons of paper had already been purchased before the probe report.

As a consequence of the controversy, Ratan Kanvar Charan Gandhvi, the State Project Director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan who was also holding charge as the director of Gujarat State School Textbook Board, was removed from the position, and VR Gosai was promoted and appointed as a replacement. DeshGujarat

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