High Level Investigation Demands by Tripura Congress in the Illogical Allotment of Highway Work

The Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) has raised high-level investigation demands into the matter of state government giving the responsibility of development and maintenance of national highways of the state to National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL). The reason for this issue of the state government giving the highway development project to the NHIDCL making such a buzz is that the company has obtained the project without placing any tender.

Senior Congress leader and former MLA Gopal Chandra Roy while talking to the media on Tuesday said that NHIDCL is being crowned as the sole authority to place tender and gain the government projects without any denial or competition. Any work or project related to the national highways of Tripura is being allotted to this company by the state government.

The Congress leader alleges the corruption of the Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb and his adviser Bhai Vijay Chibber regarding the Rs 10,000 crore projects. Roy said, "In an extraordinary notification on July 17, MoRTH mentioned that national highways 44, 108A and 208A will be repaired. Later, in another notification on August 20, it said NHIDCL shall exercise the function relating to the development and maintenance of national highways to a length of 233.80 km."

Further, stating more on the state government’s corrupt role on providing the national highway contracts, he said that the decision was taken at a meeting between highways and road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and Chibber at the Transport Bhawan. It was later on July 10 that Chibber mentioned in a note that NHIDCL has been entrusted with the work of maintenance, widening and reconstruction of entire stretches of national highways of the state.

Roy also says, "Since NHIDCL is a company, a government cannot do any deal with it without holding a discussion with all concerned, including the cabinet. In case of such a major decision, the CM should not avoid the cabinet and only take the advice of bureaucrats."