news details |
|
|
| Farooq, Omar in Renewable Energy mess | | CAG picks irregularities | |  Syed Junaid Hashmi
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Dec 9: National Conference is in for major embarrassment as its president Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah have been obliquely accused of allowing financial mess, bypassing of norms, unfairness in tender allotment, deliberate inaction over allegations of corruption and irregularities worth crores of rupees by Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India in its audit report on the performance of Renewable Energy sector for year 2015.
Though Dr. Abdullah who was New and Renewable Minister during the UPA-II Government of Congress relinquished office in May 2014 but the auditors have reflected in detail 'murky' happenings in his Ministry during his tenure besides giving account of the functioning of Science and Technology Ministry of Jammu and Kashmir under whose watch Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JKEDA) functioned during this period.
JKEDA is the State nodal agency, tasked with implementing the Centrally sponsored schemes sanctioned by the Central Government for Jammu and Kashmir. Omar had given portfolio of science and technology to young Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi when he had taken over as Chief Minister in 2009 but later, Omar had taken over the Ministry as Cabinet Minister and made Feroz Khan, MoS Science and Technology on January 16, 2013.
According to the Audit report, a copy of which is with Early Times, the eligibility criteria for contractors as per bidding document of Jammu & Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) was that he should be a permanent resident of Jammu & Kashmir with profound experience of developing and executing infrastructure projects of aggregate cost not less than Rs. 0.75 crore, of which Rs. 0.25 crore should be for hydro-electric related projects, in the last 10 years.
However, audit observed that work for six projects had been awarded in February 2013 to five ineligible contractors. This is exactly a month after Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi was stripped of the portfolio of science and technology and Omar had taken over the same as Cabinet Minister. Audit has pointedly stated that these five ineligible contractors were namely JK Renewable Energy, S.A. Power Utilities Private Limited, Gousia Road Construction Company, Sharika Enterprises and A.M. Contractors.
JKEDA awarded contracts for installation of 422 Solar Water Heating Systems (SWHSs) to two firms namely Electrotherm and Tata BP. After awarding the contracts, JKEDA for the reasons best known to it released payment of Rs. 0.41 crore to these two firms without following the guidelines and obtaining requisite reports, photographs of systems installed and full details of solar collector type and area installed. This was done in haste due to the alleged intervention of the then Chief Minister's office.
Inspection report of the Director General Quality Assurance (DGQA) indicated that 5,000 Solar Home Lightening Systems (SHLSs) supplied by a firm namely Jain Irrigation Systems Limited for Rs. 5.44 crore were not as per Indian Standard specification as envisaged in the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) and Chinese solar cells were used which were not allowed as per tender guidelines.
Audit has observed that for reasons best known to it, JAKEDA did not take any action against the defaulting firm and justified the deviation on the grounds that the firm was to maintain the system for five years free of cost. Scrutiny of documents available with Union New and Renewable Energy, which was then headed by Dr. Farooq Abdullah revealed that the Ministry had test certified all the procured items and stated that there was no restriction on Chinese cells.
However, Audit has objected to this and said that it violates the standard given in NIT and modules were not indigenous as envisaged in programme guidelines. Pointing towards non-serious and purely political allotments, Audit report has referred to Union Ministry in December 2010 sanctioning Rs. 32.70 crore for installation of Solar Power Plants of 1090 megawatt in 69 district hospitals.
When the audit went to find out the fate of this sanction order, it came to know that 22 Solar Power Plants (SPPs) had not been installed even after a lapse of 32 months. Also the contract was placed on a firm namely Sova Power Limited (SPL) whose turnover had not been certified by a Chartered Accountant as required under the eligibility conditions. This was neither ever probed nor the two ministries ever sought answers from JKEDA for violating norms.
Utilization Certificates in respect of Solar Water Heating Systems (SWHSs) sanctioned during 2009-12; were submitted to MNRE after a delay ranging from nine to 28 months. The Ministry which was then headed by Dr. Farooq Abdullah remained lax and never bothered to question such prolonged delay in submitting UCs.
More importantly, UCs submitted in January 2013 in respect of installation of 46 SWHSs sanctioned by MNRE during February 2011 confirmed that all the 46 SWHSs had been installed and commissioned. But ground verification revealed that six SWHSs had either not been installed or commissioned at the time of submission of UCs, of which three SWHSs had not been installed even as of August 2014. Ministry neither booked anyone for this fraud not sought answers from JKEDA.
Farooq Abdullah's Ministry in February 2013 sanctioned 10,000 Solar Home Lightening Systems (SHLSs) for Rs. 11 crore for various villages in twin districts of Kishtwar and Doda District. Audit observed that what to talk of distribution, the SHLSs had not even been procured by Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) as of August 2014, when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was looking after the Ministry as its Cabinet Minister.
Ex-Union New and Renewable Minister in March 2010 sanctioned assistance of Rs. 1.81 crore for distribution of 15,150 Solar Lanterns (SLs) in the Gujjar and Bakerwal basties of the State. Test check of records of Anantnag District, revealed that of the 4,384 Solar lanterns (SLs) received in 2011, 803 had not been distributed and the batteries were exhausted. Such was the political expediency that the Ministry took decisions in haste and on being asked, produced fake evidence of having completed the distribution and even submitted audited statement of expenditure (SoE).
But on being asked to produce evidence, Union Ministry failed to furnish documents evidencing distribution of SLs. This does raise serious questions about the functioning of New and Renewable Ministry in the Centre during the previous Congress-led UPA regime and Science and Technology Ministry in J&K under whose control JKEDA functions. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
