All tender formalities complied; Director refutes allegations

ITANAGAR, Mar 14: Responding to the allegations that have been raised regarding the tender process irregularities in the state’s Department of Geology & Mining, its Director Tassar Tallar has clarified that all tender formalities have been complied with as per laid down procedures and under strict departmental scrutiny.
Tassar said the proposed scheme is meant only for survey purposes and not for granting the actual mining lease. “The mineral under reference falls under the domain of GoI and if from the survey it proves that there are deposits, the Union Ministry of Mines shall complete the remaining formalities which will include a global tender call for granting the lease,” the Director clarified.
“After finding the deposit potential, a final report will be forwarded to the Union Ministry for a detail exploration followed by a mining lease,” he added. He also said the department floated the tender which was published in local dailies on February 22, 2020 and all formalities in this regard have been completed as per official procedures.
It will be relevant to mention that Department of Geology & Mining earlier proposed to explore iron ore possibilities in Laggi-Gamlin & Yomcha areas in West Siang district which is spread over an area of 500 hectares during 2019-20.  An amount of Rs 1.50 crore was also allocated for it under State Budget 2019-20 for undertaking preliminary exploration activities.

ES Reporter

ITANAGAR, Mar 14: Former Education Minister, Bida Taku on Saturday alleged irregularities in conducting a tender involving 1 crore 50 lakhs rupees proposed by the State Geology and Mining Department for iron ore exploration in Laggi Gamlin and Yomcha area, under West Siang District. 
Addressing a press conference, Taku said that while the proposal for tender inviting quotations was advertised in two local dailies and a national paper on February 5, however the department had not disclosed the cost of bidding documents, earnest money, opening and closing date of tender paper submission and other mandatory tender details.
"The most surprising thing is that the department has finished all the tender processes on February 22 and participated by three construction firm. What is it if it is not called fixing, " he alleged.
Taku said how a person (contractor) can participate in the tender which doesn't have mandatory guidelines and information.
He also alleged that the department does not have a website of its own as claimed in the tender proposal notice and the website www.arunachal pradesh gov.in, which the department recommended interested bidders to get more tender details neither contains any information regarding the tender.
"Conducting the tender process without the knowledge of the eligible contractors creates doubts about the veracity of the entire tender process, " Taku observed.
Suspecting foul play, Taku sought immediate intervention of Chief Minister, who also holds the mining portfolio into the matter.
He also questioned whether the concerned department had signed any memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Metal Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC) or conducted any prior survey or taken permission before proposing the tender.
" Since regulation of mines and mineral development are central subjects so I am wondering whether the department had taken any prior authorization before proposing the tender works, " Taku opined.
Taku also urged the concerned department to disclose the qualifications required to become an Assistant Mining Development officer (AMDO), whether the serving AMDO in the state had any prior experience related to mining or prepared enough to carry out mining activities.
The former minister further demanded cancelation and retendering of the whole project by advertising in all media platform to ensure wider participation from genuine and eligible contractors.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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