PANAJI
In what could be one of the most glaring cases of administrative drift, there is no progress on the inquiry into the alleged Rs 145-crore misappropriation in the failed Aerial Bunch Cabling (ABC) project.
The committee constituted on October 27, 2023 exists only on paper, with officials confirming it has not met even once. Sources said transfers of bureaucrats derailed the panel soon after it was formed.
“A proposal to reconstitute the committee was moved, and on May 20, the then Chief Secretary who was holding additional charge as Power Secretary, approved the inclusion of the Health Secretary as the third member. However, a subsequent reshuffle at the top, involving both the Chief Secretary and Power Secretary, meant the committee had to be set up afresh,” the source said, adding that a new panel is yet to be notified.
The State government launched the ABC project in 2017 to tackle persistent power cuts in remote areas where underground cabling was unfeasible. But the initiative collapsed amid allegations of massive financial irregularities.
The issue resurfaced in September during a meeting of the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission, when the Electricity Department acknowledged concerns over losses of several crores of rupees. The department assured the commission that an investigating committee would examine the failed projects and promised full transparency, following which it sought a detailed response, pending completion of the inquiry.
During the monsoon session of the Goa Legislative Assembly in August, on the matter raised by MLA Sankalp Amonkar, Power Minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar admitted there had been no movement at all on the inquiry.
“The bunch cables are being dismantled; however, there is no word on the recovery of the amount lost to the State exchequer,” consumer activist Roland Martins told The Goan.
