TURA, Nov 11 - The Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) on Monday staged a protest in front of the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) office in Tura over allegations of corruption in the much vaunted 100 per cent electrification scheme Saubhagya.
The entire process of the 100 per cent electrification was supposed to have been completed before October 31, 2018. The MPYC held the protest on Monday to highlight that only 30-40 per cent of the electrification target has been met by the government.
The Saubhagya scheme falls under the ambit of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY). The MPYC said it was only a facelift of the earlier Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGKVY).
�The tender process itself is questionable as the qualifying criteria was set too high to favour some contractors, the deadline was very short and they wanted high financial and technical capabilities. The value was over 50 per cent of the estimated tender value (Rs 270 crore against Rs 179 crore),� said MPYC president Richard Marak.
Interestingly, the contractor for Garo Hills, Onycon, left the work in between.
�There are more than 1,000 villages in Garo Hills where 100 per cent electrification is required, but only 300-400 villages have been completed � only about 40 per cent of the work. The whole process has left no doubt that the MeECL has wasted public money. They need to answer for the blatant misuse of public money,� Marak said.
The MPYC questioned the frequent breakdown of transformers in Garo Hills, and asked why faulty transformers were installed in the first place. The MPYC protesters also asked why streetlights were not being installed to allay the fears of the public in the town.
