Amusing but a lesson in public administration

Jarnail Singh
The present system of project implementation and purchase of equipment in Government and its agencies is through engagement of contractors through tenders. The quality of projects implemented depend on the quality of contractors. Similarly the quality of equipment purchased depends on the integrity of suppliers. Therefore to improve the quality of projects and purchase good quality equipment, the departments must keep on its rolls good contractors/suppliers and resolve issues faced by them from time to time. Resolving problems and issues of contractors /suppliers would in turn help in improving project implementation.
I am narrating one case which is hilarious as well as a lesson for public administrators. It brings out how a equipment supplier, who was threatened by Government took the Government for a long ride. If engineers and bureaucrats had listened to the contractor and resolved his problems, the work would have been completed about one year earlier and public should not have to face load shedding.


The year was 1989. As against the peak power demand of about 50 Megawatt (MW) of Manipur, there was only one 132/33 KV 40 MW power substation at Yurembam which was supplying power to whole of Manipur except Jiribam. As a result, the State had to resort to load shedding during evening peaks.
Even though State had completed a 132/33 KV 25 MW substation at Ning-thoukhong, yet as it was not connected to 132 KV Loktak to Yurembam line, the Ningthoukhong substation was not functional. State Government was required to construct about 6 kilometer of 132 KV line to connect Ningthoukhong 132/33 KV substation with Loktak Yurembam 132 line, which was delayed by more than one year. General elections to Manipur Legislative Assembly were due in February 1990. Chief Minister was keen that load shedding should be stopped and Ningthoukhong 132/33 KV substation should be operationalized.
Power Department had earlier decided to construct this Ningthoukhong to Loktak Yurembam line departmentally and but had awarded the work for supply of 132 KV tower members to M/s Amarapalli Company Ltd based in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh a couple of years back. As Amarapalli did not supply tower member till March 1989, the department started pressurizing Amarapalli’s representative, R Dham, to bring the tower members quickly. But these never reached Imphal.
M/s Amarapalli had their financial problems which no one listened. As time passed, power situation in Manipur became desperate and Dham to expedite the supply. At one stage he was threatened with a police case if the tower members were not brought to Imphal by a specific date. Dham regularly came up with excuses. When the Power Department started asking for truck numbers carrying the tower members, Dham coughed up arbitrary numbers. Manipur Bhawan Delhi was asked to expedite movement of trucks from UP border and department engineers kept a watch about arrival of these trucks at Assam Bengal border.
Both Manipur Bhawan and Power Department persons drew blank and the trucks could never be traced. This continued for a few months. By about October 1989, the situation became desperate.
Finally, the Chief Minister lost his cool with the Chief Secretary and Commissioner (Power). Some- body suggested to him that I should be made the Commissioner (Power) if he wanted to complete the 132 KV line. In October 1989, I was away in my village in Punjab with my family. I got a message to come to Manipur immediately, take over as Commissioner (Power) and get the 132 KV line built. I hurried back to Manipur by cutting short my leave. After taking over as Commissioner (Power), I called Dham to understand his problems. I was shocked to hear what he said. He said that the tower materials had been fabricated, galvanized and ready. These were lying in M/s Amarapalli’s premises and had been sealed by Excise Department of UP as Amarapalli had defaulted on payment of Rs 7 lakh to the UP Excise Department. He also informed that he used to cough up random truck numbers which were carrying materials to Manipur to avoid frequent threats from State Government.
Luckily for the Manipur, Amarapalli Company had an unpaid claim of about Rs 10 lakh outstanding against the Manipur Power Department. Dham said he had been pleading with the Manipur Power Department to pay Amarapalli’s dues so that the sealed materials could be released. But nobody listened to him. I immediately released the money and sent an Executive Engineer of Manipur Power Department to Ghaziabad along with Dham with a bank draft. In 10 days we received the tower members in Imphal. The Department started the construction of 132 KV line and completed it in time. I used to regularly visit Ningthoukhong to see construction of 132 towers. Fortunately in those days, Power Department had about half a dozen workers from Tamil Nadu who knew about construction of 132 KV towers.
It was a unique experience to see construction of 132 KV towers departmentally. In about two months the 132 KV line connecting Ningthoukhong to Loktak – Yurembam 132 line was completed and the Ningthoukhong 132 /33 KV substation was charged and load shedding during evening peak load periods was lifted.

The writer is former Chief Secretary of Manipur and later served as the Administrator of Manipur University