UKHRUL: The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Ukhrul Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Ram Muivah has refuted the ‘baseless allegations’ levelled against the MLA regarding the Shirui Heritage Project.
In a letter to LW Mataisang, Lunghar Village’s Headman, the PRO N Francis Yangmi issued a six-point clarification on the allegations made under “Lunghar Village Authority Questions The Role of MLA in Shirui Heritage Project”.
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He stated, “As PRO to the Hon’ble MLA Ukhrul, I am constrained to put the record straight:
1. Several complaints were received in the office of the Hon’ble MLA regarding the alleged fraud, irregularities and deviation from the basic tender process in the award of Shirui Heritage Complex. We have nothing against anybody who has been awarded the work, and we are not interested in interfering.
2. However, being the concerned MLA, it was his moral responsibility to examine the complaints. The Hon’ble MLA accordingly rang up the concerned engineers of DRDA Ukhrul, but none of them were able to address any of the queries raised in the complaint letters. They confessed that they have not read the DPR. The tender was done in such a hurry that there was no time to study the tender documents. They were simply advised to sign the tender document prepared by outside consultants with whom they have no contact.
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3. As a last resort, Hon’ble MLA sought the advice of the subject experts, including high-ranking engineers of Manipur, and they advised the Hon’ble MLA that the whole tender procedure is irregular as there are grave deviations from the DPR. The tender document was not done based on the DPR. For Instance, there were huge technical errors in the BOQ that is uploaded online by the TIA, for instance -an item has carried forward the quantity of 01 no. instead of 06 vendor haats, 14 single cottages, 04 twin cottages, 05 residing sheds and 02 gazebos. The technical ambiguity in quantity and amount in the BOQ has a major deviation in all the quantities and cost. The engineers advised the Hon’ble MLA that with such grave discrepancies and irregularities, the Shirui Heritage Complex will not be workable and the quality will be compromised.
4. That, as per the tender Instructions, bidders were required to submit their bids only through uploading documents on the e-procurement portal of the Government of Manipur (https://manipurtenders.gov.in/nicgep/app). No bids were to be accepted by post, hand delivery, fax or email. That the bid comprised two parts – namely, Technical Bid (Part-I) and Financial Bid (Part-II). Under Technical Bid, submission of a valid GST Clearance Certificate and Professional Tax Payment Receipt was mandatory, and no work could be awarded without these documents. However, none of the bidders fulfilled the above conditions.
5. Hence, being the concerned MLA, he was constrained to bring the matter to the notice of the Hon’ble Governor and Hon’ble Chief Minister simply to ensure quality and timely completion of the iconic SHC. He has no personal interest whatsoever other than making necessary rectification, ensuring timely implementation, and maintaining quality. The Hon’ble MLA was simply performing his duty.
6. Incidentally, the Hon’ble MLA Ukhrul has never met M/S Nongmaithem Enterprises and its promoter Mr. N Raju Singh. They did not know each other, and the Hon’ble MLA has no role in his bidding of tenders.”
The PRO then appealed to all concerned to exercise restraint and avoid making wild allegations against the MLA and advised the headman to tender apology to the MLA, Ukhrul.
