Fund misappropriation suspected
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 25 2016:
A strong suspicion has been raised about the possibility of misappropriating the amount deposited by Bharti Airtel for filling in earth along Wangjing Moreh section of Imphal-Moreh highway dug out for laying underground cables.
The Sangai Express carried a news report on May 5 last year on the inability to utilize the same amount deposited by Bharti Airtel with PWD Executive Engineer (NH Div-II) for levelling road sides dug out for laying underground cables.
Bharti Airtel Ltd deposited Rs 5,77,29,500 with the State PWD in the form of a cheque numbered 733949 on November 25, 2014 and the same amount is now deposited against Government account number 8443 .
After the underground cables were laid at the depth of 1.50 metre, the dug out portions should be filled in with earth layer by layer with appropriate compaction and the uppermost layer should be covered with shingles.
This work should have been completed within the working season of 2014-15.As a per a policy of the State Government, e-tenders should be held for all contract works whose estimated costs exceed Rs one crore.
Even as the necessary fund was already available and the State Government did not have to produce any money, the State PWD did not do anything to execute the work in time.
The same work was further delayed with the arrival of rainy season and ImphalMoreh highway was severely damaged by landslides and floods in July last year.
The degree of damage might have been exacerbated on account of seepage of water along the road sides dug out for laying underground cables, said a source.
Even as the State PWD submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Road and Transport and Highways (MoRTH) seeking Rs 99 crore for repairing highways damaged by floods, only a small fund was sanctioned for ordinary repairing and flood-damaged repairing.
Although the State Government found it hard to repair all the damaged sections of National Highways which are under its care with the small amount sanctioned by MoRTH, nobody talked about the money deposited by Bharti Airtel,
added the source.