Former Congress MLA Gopal Roy addressing media in Agartala on Monday. Photo: Pinaki Das

The Congress in Tripura on Monday has leveled allegations of financial scam involving Rs 10,000 Cr against the ruling BJP-IPFT government led by chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday former Congress MLA Gopal Roy, who was also the party president in the state, alleged, “Tripura chief minister’s advisor Vijay Chhibber along with Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on July 27 had awarded a contract of more than Rs 10,000 crore for maintenance of 229 km national highway of Tripura to NHIDCL without inviting any tender.”

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National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) is a fully owned company of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways of the government of India

Roy questioned, “How can they entrust a single PSU such a big contract and that too without any tender? This is against the state’s financial rule on power to decide restricted tender and not for the good of the state. Had there been other similar agencies in this tender process then there would have been competition. Moreover, our state PWD is at a loss of nine percent of money of the total project cost. We suspect a financial scam and demand CBI investigation into this.”

Meantime, a senior state government official on condition of anonymity said that there would be proper rejoinder issued by the CM’s office on the matter.

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The official also informed the NHIDCL was created by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh government for the maintenance of the national highways of the NE region and so the allegation does not stand besides it seems that the Congress leader who brought the allegation even does not have any understanding on how the national highways are built.

“There is a dearth of the fund for repairing these national highways as the money provided by the center is not enough. Moreover, the state PWD does not have the infrastructure and manpower for this. In such a situation if the state as well as the central government which is the owner of the national highways also takes up the responsibility to repair it then it is better for the state. Moreover, the nine percent money what the Congress leader alleges is a loss for the state is absolutely false as because when works are transferred from one government to other there are no consultancy fees.”