Shillong: Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Marcuise N Marak on Wednesday dismissed allegations that the department had favoured a Hyderabad-based company in awarding major infrastructure contracts, asserting that all projects were allotted through a transparent tendering process in accordance with government norms.
Responding to media queries on RTI findings that reportedly revealed a large share of PHE infrastructure projects being awarded to a Hyderabad-based firm, Marak said the allegations of favouritism were “totally incorrect”.
“I have seen the news report. I would say this is totally incorrect. The PHE department follows all the norms which have to be adhered to, especially in considering contract works,” he said.
The minister said the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) alone involves projects worth Rs 6,737.14 crore, covering 3,762 standalone schemes along with pipe water supply provisions for schools, Anganwadi centres and other public institutions.
According to Marak, these projects have been distributed among various contractors and firms through a strict tendering mechanism overseen by a committee headed by the Commissioner and Secretary of the PHE department, with officials from the finance and law departments also involved.
“We don’t simply favour anybody the way the paper has alleged. All norms are adhered to,” he said.
While acknowledging that the RTI documents may correctly show that the company had secured multiple projects, Marak maintained that the contracts were awarded strictly through the tendering process based on technical eligibility, expertise and experience.
“They got the tender because the technical requirement, expertise requirement and experience requirement were there. So, there is no question of favouring anybody,” he said.
Marak further explained that several large-scale schemes, including JJM, JICA-assisted projects, AMRUT 2.0 and NESID initiatives, are required by the Government of India to be implemented either on an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) or turnkey basis.
Under such arrangements, the executing agency is responsible for designing, constructing and completing the project before handing it over to the department.
“Local contractors who are capable of handling EPC and turnkey projects are very less. It requires technical expertise and experience, and practically I don’t find many local contractors there,” he said.
The minister stressed that if local firms had met the eligibility criteria and technical qualifications, they too would have been awarded the projects.
“Had there been locals and they qualified, they would have been given the work. These firms got the projects based on their competency and experience,” he added.
Marak also urged RTI applicants and pressure groups to verify facts on the ground before drawing conclusions.
“Filing RTIs is good. People should know how many projects have been sanctioned, the amount involved and to whom they were given. But after getting the report, if you simply start blaming, that is incorrect. One should verify first and then come to a conclusion,” he said.
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