SHILLONG, May 17: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said the MeECL has been asked to put on hold the agreement with Broadcasting Engineer Consultants India Limited (BECIL), an Uttar Pradesh-based public sector undertaking, for the operation and maintenance of the new 33/11 KV sub-stations across the state.
There are 56 such sub-stations.
“We will move forward after only the Cabinet is satisfied over the letter of award (LOA) to BECIL. Till then, I have directed that everything should be put on hold,” Sangma told reporters on Monday.
He clarified that the signing of the post-LOA agreement is pending.
“I am personally going through the entire process to find out if there is any issue,” the Chief Minister said, adding that the decision was taken to cut down the expenditure of the MeECL.
“The MeECL has to figure out how to cut cost and also increase its revenue. The government will not support,” he said.
Stating that the MeECL is facing a huge financial challenge, Sangma said that the corporation could incur Rs 700-800 crore in losses during the financial year 2021-2022.
He justified letting a government PSU maintain the 33/11 KV sub-stations.
Recruiting people for the operation and maintenance of the 56 sub-stations would put huge pressure on the MeECL, he said.
“Outsourcing will reduce the cost to a large extend. It is for this reason that MeECL decided to award the LOA to BECIL. As per the terms of the agreement, the manpower to maintain these sub-stations would be local people,” Sangma said.
Representatives of the Hill State People’s Democratic Party had on Saturday met Sangma seeking revocation of the LOA.
Probe into MeECL mess
Sangma also reiterated the state government’s assurance to constitute a probe into allegations of gross irregularities in the MeECL and said that the probe team, to be headed by a retired judge of the High Court, would be constituted at the earliest.
He informed that the chief secretary has asked the Political department and others to forward the list of names within this week.
Sangma admitted that selecting a retired HC judge to head the probe would be a challenge since the government wants the probe to be independent and impartial.
On the UDP demand that the Power Minister and the MeECL CMD should step aside, Sangma clarified that the letter submitted by the UDP has demanded constitution of an independent inquiry. “I consulted my Cabinet colleagues and we jointly decided to set up an independent probe,” he added.
