Two contracts awarded for single road project
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, August 17 2023:
In the midst of a financial crunch faced by the state government, a startling revelation has come to light regarding a road project within Wangoi assembly constituency in Imphal West in which road improvement work for the same stretch of road was found overlapping in two separate projects.
Sources have disclosed that the executive engineer of DRDA Imphal West issued a Letter of Acceptance for the "Improvement of Roads in Wangoi Assembly Constituency" project on August 23, 2022.Valued at approximately Rs 3.62 crore, the project encompasses a 2.13 km road stretch from Mutum Phibou to Chongtham Kona.
Simultaneously, another Letter of Acceptance was granted by the Public Works Department (PWD) to a special class contractor named LS Asheli of Sangakpham Paomei Colony for another project titled Improvement of Road from Samurou Bazar to Mutum Phibou via Imphal Barrage and Iram Siphai under CRF Scheme in the state of Manipur.
This PWD project, amounting to around Rs 5.94 crore, was awarded on September 20, 2019.While the project funded through the Central Road Fund (CRF) remains ongoing, the DRDA-initiated project is yet to commence.
Notably, a portion of the road between Mutum Phibou and Chongtham Kona overlaps in both projects.
In response to this revelation, Wangoi MLA Kh Loken registered a complaint with the Committee on Estimates of the Manipur Legislative Assembly.
Subsequently, the additional secretary of the state assembly issued a notification on March 17 of this year, leading to a committee meeting on March 21.An inquiry into the matter has unveiled the signatures of key authorities, including the Deputy Commissioner of Imphal West, the Executive Engineer of DRDA Imphal West, the Executive Engineer of PWD Highway South Division, and the Joint Secretary of Works, on both sets of work orders.
As the investigative process continues, concerns have arisen regarding the potential withdrawal of funds for the DRDA-initiated project, as sources have indicated.