PANJIM: In a major blow to Power Minister Milind Naik, the Goa Lokayukta on Friday ordered a stay on electricity contracts worth Rs 328 crore following a complaint from the Congress that alleged irregularities in the tendering process.
Goa Lokayukta PK Misra issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary, Power Secretary and Chief Electrical Engineer in the corruption case filed against them by Congress General Secretary Sunil Kawthankar in August.
“Issue notice to respondents for further preliminary inquiry,” the order by the ombudsman body states. The anti-corruption agency has not served a notice to the Power Minister, who is one of the respondents in the complaint.
“In the meantime the respondent 4 (Chief Electrical Engineer) and respondent 5 (Power Secretary) are injuncted not to award the contracts as indicated in the complaint,” Misra added.
Kawthankar in his complaint had alleged that two tenders worth Rs 328 crore were ‘awarded fraudulently, manipulating, rigging and throwing laws, rules and procedures to the wind to siphon and pocket money from public exchequer in the name of development’.
The works include the Rs 186.63 crore tender for electrical works in sub-transmissions and HT and LT distribution network awarded to Larsan and Toubro, and purchase of 20,000 electric poles at an estimated cost of Rs 145.51 crores from 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 the Rs 145.51 crore scam in August.
In the case of the first tender, the works were estimated at the cost of Rs 156.51 crore, however, the tender was issued to Larson and Toubro who had quoted Rs 186.63 crore, almost Rs 30 crore more than the actual bid.
In case of the Rs 145.51 crore scam, GED violated a HC order dictating that purchases of such nature have to be made from Handicrafts Corporation, thus suffering losses.
