Patna: Water supply schemes in rural areas of Banka, Jamui and other few districts may take time to see light of the day, as the public health and engineering department (PHED) has cancelled over 350 award of works to various firms, citing anomalies in the allotment.
“The department has cancelled the tenders of 350 project, costing around ₹826 crore owing to irregularities in the award of work,” said PHED minister Niraj Kumar Bablu. These tenders were finalised during the regime of ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (MGB) dispensation in the state for supplying drinking water in rural areas.
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“The decision to cancel the contracts was taken after an inquiry conducted by the department revealed that there were ‘irregularities in the process’ of selecting contractors,” the minister said, alleging that the previous MGB government headed by chief minister Nitish Kumar awarded the work order in contravention to the stipulated norms.
“An inquiry by the department revealed that due process was not followed in awarding 350 contracts worth Rs 826 crore. These were related to the rural water supply, including the installation of hand pumps and mini water supply systems,” said the PHED minister, adding that the inquiry report conducted by the PHED had been handed over to the competent authority in the state government for a thorough probe.
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During the MGB regime, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalit Yadav headed the PHED as its minister. Altogether 1,160 projects worth ₹4,600 crore of the PHED were settled awarded by the previous government in 17 months. “We have so far cancelled 350 contracts, the remaining are being examined,” said the minister. He, however, refused to give details of the alleged irregularities detected by the department.
According to reports, Banka district tops the list where a maximum of 106 contracts related to rural water supply systems have been cancelled, followed by Jamui (73), Lakhisarai (20), Aurangabad (18) and Ara (11).
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Soon after the change in the government after Nitish Kumar opted out of the MGA and got sworn in as the CM of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on January 28, the state cabinet secretariat in issued a letter stating that works of the departments like health, road construction, urban development and rural works departments, which was being headed by RJD ministers, would be reviewed.
The projects cancelled envisaged installation of hand pumps and mini water supply systems in small habitats and wards of rural areas.
