The Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) today said that there is no scope under the tender clause for work on the new Assembly building to have been subcontracted.
At a press conference today, the MPCC called for an immediate and independent inquiry into the collapse of the under-construction dome at the new Assembly building.
Referring to the background of the tender clause, MPCC working president Pynshngain Syiem said, “It is understood that, as per the tender clause, there was no scope of subcontracting, but it is evident that the qualifying firm, UPRNN Ltd, had subcontracted the work to BRC Ltd, a construction company from Assam that has no experience in dome building and this firm is executing the work.”
He further stated that the problem lies in the quality of construction and that the officer in charge of overseeing the work shied away from his responsibility.
“The state government should constitute an independent inquiry. It will also be good if a central agency comes to carry out an inquiry so that anyone involved in this project will be punished,” Syiem said, adding that this is not just an alleged case of corruption but also one that put the lives of people at grave risk.
The Congress also took aim at the government for the apparent poor construction of the new Inter State Bus Terminus, which has developed leaks just months after opening and the destruction of bridges and other infrastructure due to the heavy rains of the last week.
MPCC working president Deborah Marak also echoed the same opinion and demanded an independent inquiry.
“It is such sad news and an embarrassment for all of us. We from the MPCC are concerned about this and we demand independent inquiry. Only then will we know what happened,” said Marak.
The MPCC has also demanded that the state government should keep the project on hold or suspend it until the inquiry report is submitted.
