Dear Editor,
Through the column of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the kind attention of the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister and likeminded people of Arunachal Pradesh towards “the Arunachal Pradesh District Based Entrepreneurs and Professionals (Incentives, Development and Promotional) Act, 2015”.
Section 2 (ii) of the Act states that “District based Entrepreneurs and Professional means any person who is involved in the activity of execution of development and welfare projects of the government and includes Architect, Engineers, Contractors, Developers and Doctors etc but does not include any government official. The Entrepreneurs must be an indigenous of Arunachal Pradesh and a permanent resident of the concerned district”.
If this act is to be followed then why Doctors, Developers and Architects of others districts are doing business in capital only? Why government is not taking cognizance of it? Secondly, most of the professionals are included in this act, buy why Advocates are not included in this act?
Section 4 (i)(1) States that “All registered contractors in Class V and IV categories domiciled within the territorial jurisdiction of Community Block shall be eligible to participate in work costing up to Rs 50.00 lacs”.
Section 4(i) (2) states that “All registered contractors in Class IV and Class III categories domiciled within the territorial jurisdiction of Assembly Constituency shall be eligible to participate in work costing between Rs 50.00 lacs to Rs 1.00 crore”
Section 4(i) (3) and Section 4(i) (4) has the same referral that the work will be awarded based on Assembly Constituency.
As per Section 4(i) (5) and Section 4(i) (6) the work costing between Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore is open for registered contractor within the territorial jurisdiction of the District and work costing above Rs 10 crore is open for national and international competitive bidding.
Now, though the name is District based entrepreneurs but from Section 4 of the said act, it is clearly seen that the Act, has become a Block and Assembly Constituency based Act. Only Section 4(i) (5) has a mention of District based participation and most of them has a mention of Assembly constituency.
Well, for few sections of people, this act is a boon as it would give equal opportunity to do contract work at their domiciled district.
It is known to everyone, the way the contract works are awarded. The works are awarded as per the wills of the sitting MLA of the Assembly Constituency. The executing agencies awards contract work as per the guidelines and directions of the local MLA. As per CPWD work Manual 2014, the contract work should be awarded to the lowest bidder but in our state, it has been a consistent record to award work on the line of party worker recommended by local MLA. Lowest bidders are never awarded a contract work. Bidding process has become mere eyewash. In fact it has become worser than work order system. At least in work order system public were not harassed in the name of open bidding system, where public are made to participate in NIT toiling day and night preparing for tender documents, and works are pre-awarded to a particular person. If the executing agency fails to award the work recommended by local MLA then such officer are transferred overnight. The recent fiasco of such ugly victim was when Executive Engineer (EE), PWD Sagalee was transferred and new EE loyalist to local MLA was posted. But it took ugly turn, when BJP works forced state government to retain the transferred EE and then they celebrated a victory party which was viral on social Medias. This is the extent of dirty games played by local MLA’s and its opposition. Officers are helpless because if they don’t obey the instructions of local MLA, they will be transferred. This Act has become an MLA based Entrepreneurs and Professionals (Incentives, Development and Promotional) Act, 2015.
In the helms of such affairs, it is obvious that the contract work are awarded only to the party workers and the kith and kins of the politicians both ruling and opposition. We the common man, who is neutral, without affiliations to any political party has no place to live and survive. It is not possible for everyone to join politics either.
Few people will be of the opinion that the lowest bidder should knock the door of court. It is to inform such people here that the executing agency has a pre planned solutions to curb a bidder from approaching the court in the name of NON-LITIGATION affidavit and Police Verification report from the bidder. Knowing that knocking the court of law means litigation is pending and if non-litigation and police verification reports are not submitted then the bidders is rejected from participating in NIT.
For the first time in the history, it is being witnessed that an executing agencies are working as a moral police. Instead of checking technical documents like Experience, financial soundness, EPF, monthly updated challan of GST and EPF, Solvency, Tax return file etc, the work agencies are emphasizing more on Affidavits after Affidavits. I don’t understand what they will do with those affidavits in execution of work. It is a well orchestrated plan of government to stop people from voicing against the executing agency and the government.
Apart from such agony, it is also to inform here that the Arunachal Pradesh District Based Entrepreneurs and Professionals (Incentives, Development and Promotional) Act, 2015 violates the Article 15 of the Indian Constitution which states that “The state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth or any of them”. But this act is purely on the basis of place of birth where permanent resident certificates (PRC) are mandatory to get a contract work.
It is very disturbing to see such act at this modern era. Global leaders of the word are talking about universal brotherhood, globalization and ease of doing business and reaching mars and other planets, but our law makers are dividing our people on the line of community block, assembly constituency and districts. The Pan Arunachal Pradesh once dreamed by our visionary leaders is being buried by few selfish vested interest illiterate leaders just to woo the vote bank politics. Today, the people are being divided and confined to their natives only to do contract work. If such trend continues, I am afraid in coming days, people will start demanding jobs on the basis of birth place. Because, today only people from few districts are mostly employed and people from rest of the districts are mostly unemployed. Earlier, these unemployed youths used to do contract work in others district and feeling of brotherhood existed but after the Arunachal Pradesh District Based Entrepreneurs and Professionals (Incentives, Development and Promotional) Act, 2015 was enacted, the frustration of such unemployed youths are growing from day to day. I am afraid such youths are not misguided by bad elements of the society.
I don’t understand the meaning of equal opportunity mentioned in this act. Whether giving equal opportunity to people of Arunachal irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth is equality or giving opportunity based on block and assembly constituency is equality. It is for the people to judge. Moreover, when the fund distribution is not equal in all community blocks, assembly constituencies and districts of state, how this act is justified in terms of equal opportunity, is concern to ponder upon.
With the above statements, facts and figures, I would like to request the governor and CM to reconsider the Arunachal Pradesh District Based Entrepreneurs and Professionals (Incentives, Development and Promotional) Act, 2015 and scrap away such discriminatory act.
Yours,
A Concern Citizen