Shimla: Accusations of graft and scams have been creating an impasse in the budget session of the Himachal Pradesh assembly, with the opposition Congress continuing to boycott a minister facing allegations of corruption.
From the distribution of subsidised pulses worth Rs.180 crore annually to the allotment of India’s largest hydropower project in the private sector to the distribution of CFLs to 16.5 lakh households to a proposed scheme to provide free school uniforms to over 900,000 students, corruption allegations have dogged many projects.
Congress legislator G.S. Bali said he smelled a rat in the allotment of the hydropower project to Jaypee Karcham Hydro Corp Ltd, a subsidiary of the Rs.20,000 crore Jaypee Group, by the state government. “The company has been allowed to generate 1,000 MW but as per our information, it can generate up to 1,400 MW (due to over-design in its structure). It has been extended undue concessions and benefits by the government. This needs to be probed,” he said.
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said a technical committee has already been set up to look into all the aspects, including enhanced generation capacity.
Heated exchanges were also witnessed between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress over alleged lapses in the distribution of subsidised pulses.In a written reply, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala admitted that certain conditions in the tender were unauthorisedly altered to curtail competition. A case has been registered and two officials have been suspended.The civil supplies corporation, which is providing three pulses, two edible oils and salt to over 11 lakh people at subsidised prices, procures 51,000 tonnes of pulses every year, costing Rs.180 crore.
Denying any irregularities in the implementation of the Rs.60-crore Atal school uniform scheme for schoolchildren, Dhumal assured the house the entire process for procurement of uniforms was transparent.
The Congress has also been boycotting Health Minister Rajeev Bindal in the assembly since March 20 over allegations of corruption. (IANS)