Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 15 Jan: Alleging “gross anomalies and misuse of government fund” in the construction of the RCC gate at Leparada HQ Basar, the Arunachal Anti-Corruption Sena (AACS) on Sunday urged the vigilance department to send a team to “verify the project and initiate action against the responsible people.”
The work for the welcome gate started in November 2014, at a cost of Rs 20 lakhs, under the Basar PWD. Reportedly, there was serious public resentment over the design of the gate, “and numerous ultimatums were given to the department for dismantling of the gate,” the AACS said.
“Later, 50 signatories signed on a complaint letter addressed to the Basar PWD SE on 25 May, 2015, and later the gate was razed down by the angry public on 8 June, 2015,” it said.
Addressing a press conference, AACS president Kirgo Sora claimed that “the welcome gate was constructed overlooking the technical norms, causing huge loss of public money as well as the state exchequer.”
Sora urged the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) to expedite its inquiry into the matter by sending a team to the spot.
The AACS said that “the SIC had taken note on it and directed the chief engineer (PWD) central zone, Pasighat, to initiate departmental inquiry into the matter on 26 December, 2022.”
It is learnt that the work was awarded to one M/s Lappa Construction.
The AACS also urged the SIC to initiate inquiry and action against the Aalo RWD division “for gross misuse of the fund in overlapping project.”
Sora said that “the road from Pidi Rime to Tego Gamlin, constructed by the PWD a decade ago, was funded again under the PMGSY in RWD, overlapping the existing road at a cost of Rs 693 crore in 2020.”
He added that the Aalo RWD division “executed it with low standard works,” and alleged that “the contractor even covered 700 metres of CC pavement by blacktopping,” and urged the SIC to investigate the matter at the earliest.
The Arunachal Times was unable to verify the allegations with the departments concerned.
