[ Pisi Zauing ]
MIAO, 16 Sep: The All Tangsa Students’ Union [ATSU] has lodged a complaint with the Miao additional deputy commissioner (ADC), alleging gross negligence, incompetence, and suspected corruption in the long-delayed augmentation of water supply project in Miao township in Changlang district under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme [NESIDS].
The project, sanctioned in 2020 at a whopping cost of Rs 28.51 crore [tendered at Rs 28.10 crore], was awarded to Itanagar-based M/s Sky Enterprise with the objective of delivering 3.57 million litres of clean drinking water daily to the residents of Miao township and adjoining areas. According to the detailed project report, the project was scheduled for completion by June 2022, but was later extended to February 2023. However, even after more than three years, the project remains incomplete and uncertainty looms large.
The ATSU in its complaint alleged that instead of progress, the people have witnessed “endless delays, lack of accountability, and possible financial irregularities.”
The union highlighted that due to the failure of the project, households in Miao township and adjoining areas are still dependent on streams, hand pumps, and borewells, or have to purchasewater at high costs.
“The very purpose of this NESIDS-funded project, which is to ensure equitable access to safe drinking water and protect public health, stands defeated due to the laxity of the Public Health Engineering Department [PHED], and the non-serious approach of the contractor,” the ATSU said.
Raising suspicions of corruption and collusion between PHED officials and the contractor, the ATSU urged the ADC to initiate an independent inquiry, investigate possible fund misappropriation, and take stringent action, including blacklisting of the firm, if irregularities are proved.
The union demanded that the project be completed within a time-bound framework, cautioning that if the authorities fail to act, it would be compelled to escalate the matter to higher authorities or seek legal redressal.
Earlier, addressing the public on the occasion of the Independence Day, local MLA Kamlung Mossang attributed the delay to the incompetence of the contractor and negligence by the PHED, but assured completion of the project by March 2026.
Now, it remains to be seen whether the ADC will respond to the ATSU’s demand by constituting an independent inquiry committee, or will force the contractor and the PHED to complete the project within a time-bound period.
