Bihar government cancels Rs 826 crore contracts awarded during coalition rule

The NDA government in Bihar canceled 350 contracts totaling Rs 826 crore that were awarded under the previous RJD-led ‘mahagathbandhan’ government.

Banka district in Bihar has the highest number of contract cancellations related to rural water supply systems, with 106 cancellations.

Rimjhim Singh New Delhi

The Bihar government, under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) administration, canceled 350 contracts totaling Rs 826 crore that were initially sanctioned under the previous Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led ‘mahagathbandhan’ government.

These contracts were intended for the supply of drinking water in rural areas. The cancellation of these contracts follows an investigation by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), which revealed discrepancies in the contractor selection process.

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PHED Minister Niraj Kumar Singh said, “During the previous RJD-led grand alliance regime in the state, many contracts were awarded by the department. An investigation by the ministry found that due process was not followed while awarding 350 contracts worth Rs 826 crore. These concerned rural water supply, including the installation of hand pumps and mini water supply systems.

He further said that the department had submitted the findings of the initial investigation to the competent authority of the state government for further consideration. “I recently called a meeting of senior officials of the department after receiving the report, and later the cancellation order was issued,” he said.

Lalit Yadav, an RJD leader, was the PHED minister in the previous coalition government in the state.

Singh said the last administration had awarded a total of 1,160 contracts amounting to Rs 4,600 crore for projects under the purview of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) within 17 months. “We have so far canceled 350 contracts, the rest are under review,” he said.

Banka district in Bihar has the highest number of contract cancellations related to rural water supply systems, with 106 cancellations. After Banka, Jamui reported 73 cancellations, Lakhisarai 20, Aurangabad 18 and Arrah 11, according to news agency PTI.

Commenting on the decision to cancel PHED contracts, RJD state unit spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were “afraid” of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

“The previous ‘mahagathbandhan’ government in the state had executed several people-friendly projects and taken major decisions such as employing 700,000 to 800,000 youth and providing social security to the economically and socially weaker sections. weakest in society,” Tiwary said.

(With PTI inputs)