- Abhijit Nath, NET Correspondent, Tripura
Agartala, September 26, 2022 : A section of government officials are providing false information and misleading the council of ministers in Tripura. It has been recommended to form an inquiry committee in the assembly to give wrong information about the half-constructed bridge over Manu river near Harina Bazar in Sabroom sub-division under South Tripura district. Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, who is also looking after the PWD (Road & Bridges) department has assured to take action if any discrepancies are found.
On the last day of the assembly session on Monday, MLA Shankar Roy raised the matter of public interest regarding the half-constructed bridge over the Manu river near Harina Bazar. The Chief Minister said that approval was received for the construction of the bridge in the financial year 2008-09. The contractor under NBCC started construction in June 2011 and was targeted for completion in January 2013.
He said a show cause notice was issued to the contractor as the work was not completed within the stipulated time. Later, work resumed on a written commitment to complete the bridge construction by January 2021. But, even then the work did not start on time and the construction work started on August 8, 2021 when the contract was again warned of cancellation by notice. However, as Assam and Tripura were cut off due to heavy rains, there was difficulty in bringing construction materials and this affected the construction work, he said.
According to him, we have to depend on foreign countries for construction materials. As a result, the construction work has been delayed. However, considering all aspects, the target of completing the construction of the bridge by December 2022 has been fixed, he said.
Hearing the Chief Minister’s speech, MLA Shankar Roy expressed extreme displeasure with the government officials. He said frankly, the officials are misleading the Chief Minister with false information. The reason is that after inspecting the construction site on the ground yesterday, it is not possible to find a match with the Chief Minister’s statement. He said that the contractor involved in the construction work should be immediately blacklisted. For 12 years only notice is being given. Strict action should be taken against him. Allegedly, a class of engineers and officials are involved in irregularities.
Agreeing with MLA Shankar Roy, MLA Biplab Ghosh said that the government is being steered in the wrong direction with regard to the construction of that bridge. Therefore, strict action should be taken by forming an inquiry committee immediately. Knowing everything, the Chief Minister appreciated the role of MLAs on this day. Not only that, he has promised to take strict action if there is a discrepancy in the information.
