Cong alleges

IMPHAL, Nov 24: The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has asserted that the BJP’s double-engine Government including the President’s Rule administration has failed miserably to implement Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in Manipur.
Speaking to media persons at Congress Bhavan, BT Road here today, MPCC president K Meghachandra  said that the Government has failed miserably to take up any work of PMGSY-III even as a large number of roads have worn out and fallen into a very bad shape, compelling the aggrieved citizens to stage protests and even close the roads.
This is a testimony of total collapse and a major setback to rural connectivity, Meghachandra said.
The Ministry of Rural Development sanctioned Rs 404 crore for the State under PMGSY Phase-III in 2019.
This amount was meant for construction of roads with Manipur State Rural Roads Development Agency (MSRRDA)/Rural Engineering Department as the implementing agency, he said.
But no tender process of PMGSY-III could be completed from 2019 till date. Even though tender processes were initiated on April 10, 2024, the same processes have been cancelled three/four times, Meghachandra said.
Investigation into the authority’s failure to complete the tender process revealed that the former Rural Development Minister or the engineers/officials of MSRRDA/RED were trying to allot the PMGSY works to their hand-picked contractors, he said.
Such acts of favouritism and corruption are matters of grave concern for the people of Manipur, he continued.
Had the double-engine Government implemented the PMGSY works sincerely and in time, it’s time to obtain the next instalment of funds. However, the Central Government sent a letter and said that all PMGSY-III programmes other than those  which would be implemented by March 31, 2026 will be cancelled, the MPCC president said.
Befitting action must be taken against those senseless officials responsible for failing the PMGSY works, he added.