GUWAHATI, May 19 � Contractors and engineers of the Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) have resented the alleged irregularities committed by the APDCL Board and purchase committee in awarding a contract for improving the power distribution network worth around Rs 85 crore to an outside firm violating all the set norms of awarding such contracts.
Moreover, the APDCL authorities arranged funds against a high rate of interest from the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to make investment for the contract meant for improvement of reliability of the distribution network by refurbishing 33/11 Kv S/S and related activities, they alleged.
The contractors, speaking to this newspaper on condition of anonymity, said the tendering process for the contract was so arranged by the APDCL at the behest of its previous Chairman, that only three parties could submit their tenders and of them, two were found to be technically unsound. Hence there arose a need to re-tender the contract. But the then Chairman refused to re-tender the contract only to benefit the Uttarakhand-based firm of his friend, whose tender was found to be valid, alleged the contractors.
