Bihar PHE Cancels Rs 4,000 Crore-Tender Awarded During Coalition Govt Over 'Irregularities'

PHE minister Neeraj Kumar Bablu said that an inquiry was ordered after receiving a complaint about the tender. Now, a new tender will be floated and work will begin from August, he assured.

Patna:Bihar Public Health Engineering (PHE) minister Neeraj Kumar Bablu on Friday said a contract worth Rs 4,000 crore that was awarded during the erstwhile RJD-led Mahagathbandhan government, has been cancelled due to alleged irregularities.

The minister said that a fresh tender will be floated by the department. The tendering process will be completed within a month and work will be started from August, he said.

"A tender worth Rs 4000 crore that was awarded by the previous government has been cancelled. We received a complaint about the tender and got it investigated after which, it was cancelled," he said.

The PHE minister further said, "The issue of irregularities in the tender is a different thing. We do not want to discuss much about what happened during the tenure of the previous government. We are cancelling the tender and floating a new one to ensure smooth supply of drinking water to every household under the Chief Minister's ambitious scheme of Nal Jal Yojana. When we got the old tender investigated, we found that many villages and mohallas got excluded from the scheme. Now, we will connect those villages and mohallas and the department will work on ensuring that not a single house is left out."

The minister said that the department will be modernised and a mechanism to fill and close water tanks with the help of solar energy will be installed here. Advanced taps will be installed so as to avoid wastage of water.

Bablu said a target has been set to install 4000 hand pumps of which, 1500 have already been installed and the rest will be ready in a few days. There is a requirement of 497 water tankers out of which, water is being supplied to the villagers in the problem-ridden areas through 83 tankers in nine districts as per requirement. Fifteen water ATMs have also been made available in the state as per need.

The department has released a toll free number and a WhatsApp number to register problems faced in rural areas. One can complain on toll free number 18001231121 and WhatsApp number 8544429024 from 6 am to 8 pm. A register will be maintained on the number of complaints received in a day and the solution that has been provided.

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