Meghalaya Govt to drag Gokhale to court for alleging financial irregularities by Meghalayan Age

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaDecember 5, 2022

Dismissing allegation of financial irregularities to tune of Rs 632 crores by the Meghalayan Age, the Meghalaya Government decided to file a defamation suit against AITC national spokesperson Saket Gokhale.

Acting promptly against the statement by the AITC leader, the Planning Commissioner and Secretary said, “The State Government views this very seriously and is considering suing the issuer of this press statement for defamation,”

He also said the State Government strongly rejects all these claims which are fabricated and devoid of facts. The issuer of the (AITC) statement has made such motivated and inaccurate claims in the past and it appears that the sole intention behind the recent press statement is to mislead the public.

“Further, the issuer (Gokhale) of this press statement never approached the State Government or any of its agencies to seek any information nor used any of the publicly available information including those available at https://meghalayatenders.gov.in,” it said.

Also Read | AITC accuses Meghalaya CM, IAS officer of indulging in irregularities of USD 79 million for ecotourism development project

The statement further informed that the Meghalayan Age Limited (MAL) is a State Govt company under the aegis of the Planning Department, which has been incorporated under Section 2 (45) of the Companies Act, 2013.

The project cost for the Meghalaya Ecotourism Infrastructure Development Project ( MEIDP) is about Rs 731 Cr and is one of the many externally aided projects (EAPs) being implemented in the State.

It must be noted that under any EAP being implemented in the northeastern states, the Government of India passes 90% of the funding as grants to the State government. Thus, only 10% of the total amount has to be paid by the State government.

Further, the entire tendering process for MEIDP is being done as per the norms of the State Government and is being overseen and approved by the funding agency, the New Development Bank (NDB). All the details are made available to the public at – https://meghalayatenders.gov.in.

“Given the above, it appears that all the claims being made by the issuer of the press statement seem to be highly motivated,” the government statement said.

On the allegation that names of contractors were not revealed publicly, the Commissioner & Secretary said, the works tenders have been floated by the respective departments – Public Works Department, Directorate of Tourism and the State Sports Council of Meghalaya. The entire tendering process is being done as per the norms of the State Government and is being overseen and approved by the New Development Bank. All the details are made available to the public on – https://meghalayatenders.gov.in

With regards to Gokhale’s claim that majority of projects under the ecotourism project are road constructions, the government official said that the roads sub-projects comprises just 14% of the total project size. Further, these road sub-projects are indeed being taken up by the PWD as part of the overall project. It must be noted that the development of tourism cannot happen in silos. Connectivity is integral to tourism and such connectivity projects are also taken under GoI-sponsored programs such as SWADESH Darshan and PRASAD.

On the allegation that not a single financial report was filed with the concerned ministry, he said, “All the statutory and legal compliances are being met and followed by the Meghalayan Age Limited. It is mandated by the external funding agencies (New Development Bank in thiscase) that Project Management Units (PMU) be set up for overseeing the progress and implementation of the externally aided projects. These PMUs are selected through international, open and competitive bidding and typically global consulting firms get onboarded as PMUs. This standard process is being followed for all the EAPs in not just Meghalaya, but in other State and Central Government projects too.”

Stating that it is incorrect that a flurry of tenders has been floated in the last three months, the government official said, “To date, 8 major works tenders have been floated under the project. Out of these, 2 were floated in December 2021; another 4 were floated in March 2022 and the remaining two were floated in the months of August 2022 and October 2022 respectively. Further, one of the conditions for the signing of the project agreement is that projects worth 30% of the project size be tendered and awarded. Given that the agreement is scheduled to be signed during the month of January 2023, it is imperative that projects worth Rs. 219 Cr are awarded by December 2022. It must be noted that all the processes are being followed for tendering and awarding of projects. They are done only after the required approvals have been obtained from the NDB.”

He further maintained that all the statutory and legal compliances are being met and followed by the Meghalayan Age Limited. A few aspects of how Externally Aided Projects (EAPs) are funded, sanctioned and implemented need to be clearly understood to appreciate the State’s emphasis on these projects. First, for the northeastern states, EAP money is almost equivalent to a grant from the GoI.

“The GoI borrows the project cost as a soft loan from external agencies and 90 per cent of it is provided as a grant to Meghalaya. The State will only have to repay 10 per cent of the project cost over a 12-20 year period at the most nominal interest rates. Thus, EAP money is the cheapest source of funding and is almost equivalent to a grant from the Government of India for our State. All the processes, norms and rules are being followed with regard to the finances and awarding of the project,” the government official stated in the statement.

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