SHILLONG, March 29: The Justice (retd) RN Mishra-headed three-member commission, which probed alleged corruption and illegalities in the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL), submitted its report to Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The inquiry pertained to procurement, aggregate transmission and commercial or AT&C losses, implementation of the Saubhagya scheme and human resources management.
The commission said it prepared the report after looking into relevant records, visiting the offices of MeECL and holding interactions with its officials as well as the officials of its three subsidiaries – Meghalaya Power Generation Corporation Ltd, Meghalaya Power Transmission Corporation Ltd and Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Ltd.
“We would like to thank the Government of Meghalaya for giving us this opportunity,” the commission said.
Retired IAS officer Manoj Kumar was the commission’s administrative member while retired executive director of the Rural Electrification Corporation, Sunil Kumar was its technical member.
The commission was constituted in July last year. Although it was given three months to submit the report, it had sought extension on a couple of occasions. On January 4, it was granted three month’s extension.
The commission critically examined the procurement rules and procedures of the MeECL and its subsidiaries.
It then benchmarked them against the procurement rules and procedures of the state government and some of the better-run energy corporations in other states of the Northeast.
The commission had held a meeting with the officials of the MeECL and its three subsidiaries in December last year and sought information on the Leshka Hydroelectric Power Project, the new billing software, procurement of more than one lakh meters for service connection, one-time settlement schemes, Chinese meters provided by ADB industrial tariff, e-tendering process and non-completion of electrification of villages by turnkey contractors, among others.
