The State Youth Congress has alleged that corruption is rampant today in Meghalaya that almost all government departments are tainted with corruption and scam.
“Talk of any of the departments, we will find manipulation and corruption happening in a big way, and Chief Minister Conrad Sangma will be defending instead of penalising and fixing responsibilities,” the Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) vice president Banphira Basaiawmoit said.
He also pointed to media reports regarding scams in the departments of Home (Police), Health, Education, Power, Social Welfare and PWD.
“Lately the chief minister has mentioned that the dome of the Assembly collapsed due to the weight of the structure. We would like to ask the chief minister to place the inquiry report made by the IIT Guwahati in public domain so that we may be aware of the reality behind the collapse,” the MPYC leader said.
“Whom is the chief minister trying to save by stating the dome collapsed due to the structure? Rather than enlightening, the chief minister rebuts by requesting others to do their homework before accusing,” Basaiawmoit added.
The MPYC leader alleged that there is rampant corruption in the construction of the new Assembly building where it has been noticed that there is clear failure in maintaining the technical design structure which was seriously compromised by the contractor.
“What was the PWD Engineer in charge of the building doing during the whole construction period who we have lately seen campaigning for the party the chief minister heads?” Basaiawmoit asked.
The MPYC leader said that the contractor responsible for the construction of the Assembly building, Uttar Pradesh Nirman Nigam Limited, has sub-contracted the project to Badri Rai Company.
“We fail to understand how Badri Rai Company has been doing this whole project where the tender notice of PWD clearly states that only 40 per cent of the work can be subcontracted. The Badri Rai Company, which was initially rejected by the PWD, as we understand, could not qualify for the same contract work, but that they have come in through the backdoor,” Basaiawmoit said.
He also said that Badri Rai Company seemed to have been highly favoured by the current MDA government as the company has been awarded multiple projects which are of public importance within the State.
The MPYC leader cited examples of the New Polo Market, Bajengdoba Road, Tura Stadium, and the new construction at the MTC building in Police Bazaar which have been allotted to Badri Rai Company.
“How safe are we under this contractor whom we have seen making major compromises in the construction quality as seen with the dome,” Basaiawmoit asked.
