Manipur Orders Audit of Stalled ADB Road Project

Imphal: Manipur officials set up a three-member committee on July 20 to investigate the Imphal-Kangchup-Tamenglong road project. The work is a disaster. The Asian Development Bank suspended funding because contractors finished only 20 kilometers of the 103-kilometer route. The project aimed to cut 90 kilometers off the travel distance between Imphal and Guwahati.

The state government now faces massive debts. Costs ballooned from an initial Rs 1,380 crore in March 2016 to a revised Rs 1,766 crore. While the ADB provided Rs 1,447.48 crore, the state paid its mandatory 10 percent share of Rs 115.20 crore. The deadline passed with money left on the table. The audit team must review the bidding process, how officials spent the cash, and why the work failed. They have three months to finish.

The government tapped three retired Public Works Department officials for the job: Kh. Temba Singh acts as Chairman, while T. Rabindrakumar Singh and N. Subhas Singh serve as members. Official sources suggest the findings could trigger a Central Bureau of Investigation probe. Insiders claim that "once the audit committee submits its report, the findings could pave the way for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation."