Alleges injustice and lack of cooperation from State authorities
Kohima, 22 November (MTNews): The Nagaland Contractors and Suppliers’ Union (NCSU) has decided to reiterate its position on the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Phase III (PMGSY-III) tender process in Nagaland. The decision was reinforced during a general meeting held at the NCSU head office in Kohima on November 21, 2023.
In the press release, NCSU president Pele Khezhie and general secretary John Kath detailed a series of attempts it made to engage with authorities and resolve concerns before resorting to legal action. The union claims to have initially raised grievances during its general meeting cum press conference at Hotel Japfü on October 5, 2023, which subsequently led to legal proceedings in the Kohima High Court.
The NCSU officials stated that they had approached the Executive Engineer PMGSY on May 13, 2023 seeking maintenance of status quo of the tender system, but their concerns were allegedly disregarded. Further efforts were made to engage with the Minister NPWD (R&B) and the Chief Minister of Nagaland, but the union asserts that their pleas went unanswered.
Despite repeated attempts to communicate their concerns, the union alleges an adamant attitude from the State Government of Nagaland and the NPWD (R&B), particularly concerning the use of new technology and the allocation of work.
The Chief Engineer PWD (R&B) initiated the PMGSY-III tender process on September 6, 2023, with a plan of 100% new technology and clustering 40 projects into 16 packages. The union objected, requesting the abeyance of the tender, but no action was taken by the Chief Engineer.
A pre-bidding meeting on September 12, 2023, which was held at the NPWD conference hall called by the Chief Engineer, revealed discrepancies in the committee responsible for the clustering decision. While the PMGSY officials claimed it was the work of a High Powered Committee, the NCSU said the State level standing committee was the actual decision-maker.
“When the representatives of NCSU asked how 40 projects were clustered into 16 packages only, the officials of PMGSY replied that it was done by High powered committee. But it was actually done by the State level standing committee,” NCSU said.
On 15 September 2023, Chief Engineer (R&B) called the NCSU to his office chamber. Accordingly, the union officials reached his office by 12:00 noon but he was not in the office, the NCSU said.
Subsequently, a joint meeting on September 19, 2023, called by the Chief Engineer (R&B) ended with the union walking out after failing to reach an agreement with the Chief Engineer, who insisted on 100% new technology and the 40 projects clustered into 16 packages.
“The union officials reiterated to its demands for 40 projects 40 firms and 15% new technology; however, the Chief Engineer (R&B) replied that the committee has decided to go for 100% new technology with 40 projects into 16 packages only,” NCSU claimed.
Expressing dissatisfaction with the entire process, the NCSU announced its decision to move forward with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the NPWD (R&B) PMGSY Branch, seeking justice from the court of law. Meanwhile, the NCSU disclosed its resolution to take disciplinary action against certain members who participated in the tender process, accusing them of directly challenging the union constitution.
“In this connection, the house passed a resolution to take immediate disciplinary action against the following erring members with explanation call within 8 days,” it said.
In view of the above, the NCSU said it once again convened a general meeting on 21 November 2023 at NCSU conference hall with regards to PMGSY-court case, and that the house unanimously reaffirmed to stand for NCSU head office till justice is delivered to its members.
