Team Herald
PANJIM: The Congress Party on Friday filed a complaint before the Goa Lokayukta against State Power Minister Milind Naik regarding irregularities in the tendering process of works worth Rs 332 crore.
Congress General Secretary Sunil Kawthankar filed the complaint alleging that tenders worth Rs 332.14 crore were awarded fraudulently, manipulating, rigging and throwing all laws, rules and procedures to the wind to siphon off and pocket money from the exchequer.
The complaint, also filed against the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary and Chief Electrical Engineer, prays that directions be issued to the authorities concerned to file a First Information Report (FIR) against the alleged accused.
The works include a Rs 186.63 crore tender for electrical works in sub-transmissions and HT and LT distribution network, awarded to Larsen and Toubro, and purchase of 20,000 electric poles at an estimated cost of Rs 145.51 crore from a private dealer – KEI Industries Limited. The work includes conversion of existing 11 KV overhead bare conductor lines to 11 KV aerial bunched cable network. Herald had exposed this Rs 145.51 crore scam last week.
Kawthankar has demanded that the Lokayukta direct government to maintain status quo and go for retendering.
In the first tender, the works were estimated at the cost of Rs 156.51 crore, however, the tender was issued to Larsen and Toubro that had quoted Rs 186.63 crore, almost Rs 30 crore more than the actual bid.
“The Goa State Works Board (GSWB) had ordered retendering of the contract, following my letter to the Chief Secretary in May, exposing corruption,” Kawthankar said in the complaint adding ‘despite this, power minister overruled the GSWB directions and went ahead and tendered the work’.
“The retendering was required, as the financial bids were visible on the department website during the opening of techno-commercial bids,” he explained.
In the case of the Rs 145.51 crore scam, GED violated the HC order dictating that purchases of such nature be made only from Handicrafts Corporation, thus suffering losses.
In the case of the Rs 145.51 crore scam, GED violated the HC order dictating that purchases of such nature be made only from Handicrafts Corporation, thus suffering losses. “The NIT and tender conditions, specifically the work experience criteria, were tailor-made to suit KEI Industries by violation of CPWD Manual and CVC Norms which must be compulsorily followed while framing such tenders,” the complaint stated.
“However, despite making out a clear cut case of corruption, nepotism, favoritism and adoption of fraudulent means to defraud the State exchequer and earn money by means of corruption, the GSWB headed by Chief Secretary approved the recommendation of the GED to allot the said work to KEI Industries,” it added.
