Thiruvananthapuram Corporation needs special permit to purchase insecticide

Thiruvananthapuram: An instruction from Store Purchase Department could cause a problem for Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, while purchasing Malathion, the vector-control insecticide, directly from Raidco Kerala Limited. There are companies enlisted by the Department from which direct purchases can be made. Raidco, in which the state government has 98% share, is one such company. However this is limited to products manufactured by the company.

If an enlisted company sources the product from another manufacturer, a tender process needs to be initiated, as per the instruction from the department. “We do not encourage a direct purchase, if the company only acts as a supplier,” says M.A. Stephen, Under Secretary, Store Purchase Department. Both the vector-control compounds of Malathion and Pyrethrum, which Raidco supplies, are imported, according to its Managing Director Manoj Kumar C.P. Normally the civic body procures the insecticide from Directorate of Health Services (DHS).

As DHS has conducted an e-tender, and has entered into a contract with Malathion, there is no hassle procuring from the directorate. However, recently, because of the dengue outbreak, the demand for Malathion had increased, and it was in short supply at DHS as well. So Corporation had to make direct purchases from Raidco. Raidco is awaiting the state government's reply to a representation to allow the direct purchase of Malathion, since it is a dengue outbreak, said Manoj Kumar C.P.