SHILLONG, March 4: Senior bureaucrat Vijay Kumar D has asserted that Dalberg, a consultancy firm was selected for improving mobility in Shillong through a transparent tendering process after following the norms of the World Bank.
A columnist had, in letters to the Editor in The Shillong Times, stated that Dalberg consultancy was engaged by two departments – the Meghalaya Infrastructure Development & Finance Corporation Ltd (MIDFC) and Meghalaya Integrated Transport Project (MITC).
The columnist also said Kumar is both the Chief Executive Officer of MIDFC and Project Director for MITP as well as the husband of Priti Rao, senior adviser to Dalberg.
When contacted, Kumar said that the selection of the agency (Dalberg) was transparent and according to World Bank norms.
“I was not part of the Technical Evaluation Committee that evaluated the technical proposals of the 12 agencies that participated in the bid process,” he said.
He also said that the approval for finalising the agency was given by the board of MIDFC as well as by the World Bank.
“So, there is really no conflict of interest or violation of any processes,” Kumar added.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress president Joplyn Scott Shylla questioned the role of some IAS officers in various departments, alleging they have stakes in private businesses while being in the government, which violates the Central service rules and professional ethics.
Reacting to the columnist’s letter, Shylla said that the government and those involved in this must come clean about the proposed project and explain how it will benefit the masses.
She also questioned the state government’s silence on why an IAS officer is allowed to remain in the same department and why a firm with which the officer’s wife is involved was selected.
“How can the same officer be allowed to channelise public money to a firm in which he has an equal interest?” she asked, reminding that H.M. Shangpliang had earlier raised the issue of Vijay Kumar D having floated a firm named Meghalayan Age Ltd with two other officers – Tourism Director Cyril Diengdoh and Robert Lyngdoh of the Planning Department.
“We also want to question the silence of the coalition parties on this daylight robbery. Bureaucrats and politicians being hand in glove in looting the state of its resources is a very dangerous trend,” she said.
Shylla also voiced the concern of the Congress on the use of smart electronic meters for billing in various localities of Shillong and their accuracy in comparison to the old meter system.
She slammed the state government and the MeECL for not taking public opinions before going for installation, which is a violation of consumer rights.
The public should have been sensitised and given a choice to install or reject the smart electronic meter, she said.