By – Yambem Laba
Only a few months after this reporter pointed out the drama involved in awarding the “contract” for the construction of the National Sports University in Manipur to a blacklisted Kolkata-based firm called Simplex Infra Limited by Hindustan Steelworks Construction Limited, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case in the matter.
It has booked the managing director and a few others for having received asum of Rs one crore as bribe for awarding the contract. Those booked include people from places such as Visakhapatnam, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad. The ones who appear on the list are Mayush Bhandari, then managing director of the HSCL, now merged with the public sector undertaking National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited; Anant Saxena, MD of Zillion Infraprojects Private Limited; V Ajay Kumar, MD of Vijay Nirman Private limited and its director, N Krishna Rao, and one T Nmai Singh, the authorised signatory of NT Enterprises.However, one can say that a total sum of Rs 5.17 crore was misappropriated by Bhandari and others in HSCL without spending a single paisa or executing a spadeful of earthwork. The saga began in March 2018 when Prime Minister Narendra Moth was scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the NSU at Koutruk, 15 kilometres from ImphaL An entire hilltop was razed to the ground so that the PM could address an audience and them was only a proposal to construct a helipad. Neither tenders were float- ed nor contract work awarded to any- one. Subsequently, the PM landed at Imphal and laid the foundation there. Following that, a photograph of a pre-existing playground constructed by the state public works department in the vicinity was taken, shown as the newly razed and built ground, and a utilisation certificate issued. The HSCL, at that moment of time, had only two officials on the ground a manager engineer and a junior engineer. No labourers or contractors were present.
According to information culled by this reporter from ministry sources in Delhi, the administrative sanction, bearing Number 70-77/2014 SP-VI dated 04/08/2017, was issued by the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports with deputy secretary Garg signing it. He was thereafter replaced by SPS Tomar, who was a frequent visitor to Imphal and had an allegedly close association with the HSCL. He was apparently privy to what was happening in Manipur inter alia the going-ons within the NSU.
The matter was brought to the notice of then secretary of the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports, Rahul Bhatnagar in the bi-annual review meeting held in Delhi towards the fall of 2018. When the NBCC/HSCL officials present there reported that the amount of Rs 5.17 crore had been utilised, the tender notice and name of the contractor was asked for. They couldn’t produce the necessary papers. When the minutes of the bi-annual meeting were recorded, no mention of having spent the money was found. Bhatnagar was replaced by RS Juiliani as the secretary but the latter did not convene a single review meeting.
The mantle of the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports landed on the shoulders of Kiren Rijiju who was elected from Arunachal Pradesh. At the end of 2019, he was informed about the embezzlement in
writing but apparently, for reasons best ‘mownto him, he did not give it a second look.
After Parliament passed the National Sports University Act, the government had to name aVC for the university. As per University Grants Commission norms, a formal advertisement calling for applications has to be put out, followed by the formation of a search committee and a formal interview has to be conducted before the final selection is announced. There were at least two people from Manipur who had applied for the post of VC Lieutenant General (retired) Konsam Ilimlaya Singh, the first Manipuri soldier to be raised to that rank, and Hawaibam Dilp Singh, former sports commissioner of Manipur and also a formerVC of Dhanamanjuri University. None of the norms were followed.
The Union ministry of youth affairs and sports unexpectedly named RC Mishra, a former secretary of the Union’ministry of culture, as the VC. That was on 21 October 2019 and he has not been present in Manipur for more than 30 days till date. His only qualification seemed to be that he had earlier served in Manipur as the deputy commissioner of Churachandpur district and secretary/commissioner (power) in 1994. While in the latter post, Mishra was involved in a controversy as he had decided to pay outstanding bills for contractors of the power department to only those who hailed from outside the state. He has no experience in sports management or sports science.
The Statesman had earlier pointed out various lacuna in the management of the NSU in its nascent stage. It related to the actions of the dean, Jayshree Acharya, who had flouted norms established by the UGC while appointing guest lecturers and also purchased various items without calling for tenders. They were mentioned to Bhatnagar by Radhaluimar Singh, a former commissioner of the Manipur government, who was then serving as registrar of the NSU. When no action was forthcoming even after Singh wrote a strong letter of protest, he put in his papers. Acharya continues to hold office till date.
Manipur has been acknowledged for long as the powerhouse of Indian sports. The state has produced stalwarts like Padma Shushan Mary Kom, now a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), and Kunjarani (Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee) among hundreds of internationals and numerous Olympians.
But the manner in which the NSU has been running from its inception leaves a lot to be desired. It still does not have an executive committee or academic council, as mandated by UGC guidelines, and no representative from the Government of Manipur is in its management.
It is a sorry reality that the VC’s appointment was hurried through only after people from Koutzukvillage, who had donated 300 acres of land for the NSU, protested over the lethargic attitude of the Central government. And although the stated aim of the NSU was to take new strides in the fields of sports science, technology, management, psychology and coaching, all it has been doing is produce Bachelor’s degrees in physical education – a subject offered by more than 50 institutes across the country.
To make amends, one feels the Union ministry of youth affairs and sports must first replace Mishra as VC of the NSU with a person who has knowledge of sports science alongside the requisite academic or administrative experience. A pro-VC should also be there to assist and establish the necessary councils or committees.
Finally, orders should be given to thoroughly probe the misappropriation of the Rs 5.17 crore in the name of the PM’s visit to Koutruk.
(Courtesy- the Statesman)
