GUWAHATI, July 20 - Though Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today ordered a probe into the reports of an American company paying bribe to government functionaries for getting contract of consultants for the city water supply scheme, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that only a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would be able to unearth the truth as the incident has international ramifications.
After the reports of bribe payment rocked the State, the Chief Minister today directed Additional Chief Secretary Subhas Chandra Das to probe the incident and submit a report soon. He also said in a statement that if any prima facie evidence of corruption is found, the State government would refer the case to the CBI.
However, Union Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Sarbananda Sonowal expressed the view that no State agency or officer would be able to bring out the truth as the incident has international ramifications.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Sonowal said that only the CBI can handle the investigation into the incident as an American company is involved. He pointed out that the CBI is the nodal agency of Interpol in India and that is the only agency which can deal with crimes having international ramifications. He demanded that the State government should immediately hand over the case to the CBI so the guilty can be brought to book.
It may be mentioned here that two former officials of American company Louis Berger pleaded guilty in a New Jersey court after they reportedly admitted paying bribe to government functionaries in Assam and Goa to get contracts as consultants in implementation of water supply projects. The project in Assam for which the company got contract as consultant is the Greater Guwahati Water Supply Project being implemented by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) with funds from the Japan International Cooperation. The initial grant received for the project was around Rs 1,500 crore, but the value increased later after devaluation of the rupee.
