After reports of massive corruption, manipulation and misuse of power and public money in the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL), this time favouritism was resorted to in order to smoothen such corrupt practices.
In the latest case, a junior engineer who was a blue eyed boy of the MeECL management and suspected of having close links with the powers that be in the Power Department has been given special powers even more than the Chief Engineer.
P P Kar, a Superintending Engineer of MeECL, who was brought from his posting in Garo Hills to the MeECL head office here has been given special power to prepare detailed project reports (DPRs), tenders, issuance of Letter of Intent (LOI), Letter of Award (LOA) and other matters relating to project conceptualisation.
According to an order issued by MeECL, Kar will also be the nodal officer for implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
Sources said that the present Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD), Arunkumar Kembhavi after one month of his joining has on October 28, 2020 resorted to transfers of few engineers of the rank of Superintending Engineers and Executive Engineers relating to Project Offices only and this was not viewed as normal reshuffle for the interest of the Corporation.
The officers that had been transferred to projects are P P Kar as Superintending Engineer (Projects) MePDCL, Shillong, B Nikhla as Executive Engineer (Projects), MePDCL, Shillong, and D K Srivastav as Executive Engineer, office of the Chief Engineer(Projects), MePDCL, Shillong.
The office order was very controversial because the officers that were transferred to the project offices were handpicked by Kembhavi without consulting the Technical Directors and the Chief Engineers.
According to sources, such arbitrary action has hurt the sentiments and morale of senior officers and this has never ever happened with previous CMDs.
Most conspicuous was the extreme step by giving undue privilege and enormous powers to the Superintending Engineer (Projects) P P Kar over and above the Chief Engineer (Projects) which is highly irregular and questionable.
In the office order, Kar was vested with overwhelming powers and responsibilities as far as all projects in MeECL are concerned. He was authorised to prepare DPR, tender papers, issue Letter of Intent (LOI), Letter of Award (LOA) and other matters relating to projects conceptualisation.
Moreover, Kar was also appointed as the Nodal Officer for implementation of MeECL’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Project.
In the past, all such works were the duties and responsibilities of the office of the Chief Engineer (Projects) with his team of officers consisting of Superintending Engineer (HQ), Executive Engineer, Assistant Executive Engineer, Senior Accounts Officer, etc. The office of the Chief Engineer (Projects) had been handling all earlier projects like Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (APDRP), Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project (NERSIP), IBBFL, etc.
Most of the officers in MeECL have condemned such ridiculous orders and questioned as to how the Superintending Engineer (Projects) could handle so much work when he is having no staff and more so when the office is subordinate to the office of the Chief Engineer (Projects).
Moreover, Kar does not have any past experience for project works. From reliable sources, this office was assisted and supported through the services of three persons from outside the State. They include Rupesh Kumar, Advisor to the Power Minister, Tejkaran and Krishna Jaiswal of Satnam Global Infraprojects Ltd, Delhi besides the two Executive Engineers.
Employees of MeECL have revealed that these people were seen most of the time till late night in the office chamber of the Superintending Engineer (Projects) which is close to the chamber of the MeECL Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Arunkumar Kembhavi.
It may be noted that Kar had signed the Letter of Award (LOA) on September 23, 2020 for the supply of desktop computers ,computer tables and chairs to SRIT India Pvt Ltd, Bangalore (JV) with Satnam Global Infra Projects Ltd amounting to Rs 1,88,85,438.
Shockingly, the price of one desktop computer, computer table and chair supplied by the company is at the rate of Rs 3.36 lakh, of which the same can be supplied by the local suppliers at just Rs 1 lakh.
Kar had also issued LOAs to four different companies under ADB projects amounting to Rs 334, 37, 00,000 for construction of power sub-stations on November 16 and 24, 2020.
He had also signed another Letter of Award (LOA) on February 16, 2021 for the controversial supply of smart meters and associated services in Meghalaya to Satnam Global Infra Projects Ltd, Delhi (JV) with JPM Industries Ltd, Gurgaon and Inhemeter Company Ltd, Shenzhen, China amounting to Rs 232, 96, 39,344.10.
