By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 24: The Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Sunday accused the MDA government of “crony capitalism” and monopolisation regarding the award of major Public Health Engineering (PHE) projects to Hyderabad-based BAC Infratech Pvt. Ltd.
VPP spokesperson Dr AW Rani stated that recent RTI findings confirmed public suspicions that the PHE Department has been turned into a “personal fiefdom” for the firm. He alleged that BAC Infratech, incorporated in 2014, has secured control over water supply projects worth nearly Rs 1,900 crore in Meghalaya despite having “no proven track record” in other states.
According to Rani, major schemes, including the New Shillong Township and Tikrikilla water supply projects, were handed to the company while local contractors were sidelined. He further noted that the cost of the New Shillong Township Water Supply Project escalated from Rs 538.44 crore to Rs 772 crore—an increase of Rs 233 crore—allegedly without a public audit.
Questioning the repeated allocation of contracts to a single entity, the VPP spokesperson claimed such concentration could not occur without a “deep political nexus.” He demanded transparency regarding the company’s ownership and the officials responsible for approving the files.
Rani described the government’s silence on the matter as “deafening” and claimed the state’s water sector is being corporatised for the benefit of a select few.
He called for a clarification on the basis for granting licences and approvals to the firm.
The state government has previously denied allegations of favouritism, maintaining that all projects were allotted through a transparent tendering process in accordance with prescribed procedures.
