The ambitious Ropeway Project at Ibudhou Marjing in Heingang, Imphal East, intended to boost tourism in Manipur, has come under serious scrutiny after an audit report revealed multiple irregularities in its implementation, including the commencement of construction without mandatory clearances and payment for work that was not executed.
According to the audit report on the General, Social, Economic and Revenue Sectors for the year ending March 31, 2023, the project titled “Development of Ropeway Project at Ibudhou Marjing, Heingang, Imphal East, Manipur” was approved in October 2020 by the Ministry of Finance under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure scheme. The Centre sanctioned Rs. 35 crore for the project, while the total estimated cost stood at Rs. 51.61 crore, with the State Government expected to bear the remaining Rs. 16.61 crore. The project was scheduled for completion by March 2023.
However, the audit found that the work began without obtaining mandatory Environmental Clearance and Forest Clearance, both of which are required under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 and the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
The project required diversion of 0.9001 hectares of forest land, for which the Tourism Department applied for forest clearance in February 2022. Although the Central Government granted Stage-I (in-principle) approval in January 2023, the required payment of Rs. 18.72 lakh towards Net Present Value, compensatory afforestation, and other charges had not been made as of August 2023. Consequently, the Forest Department had not formally handed over the forest land to the Tourism Department.
Despite this, construction activities were carried out on forest land and an expenditure of Rs. 16.42 crore had already been incurred by March 2023. The audit also noted that the project had not obtained environmental clearance, making the execution of the project highly irregular.
The ancillary works, including civil, electrical and development works, were awarded in July 2022 to a local contractor at a cost of Rs. 20.16 crore with a stipulated completion date of March 2023.
Audit examination of the Measurement Book and related vouchers showed that Rs. 1.96 crore had been paid to the contractor as of March 2023, out of which works valued at Rs. 0.71 crore were not actually executed.
The audit concluded that Rs. 71 lakh was paid to the contractor based on false entries in the Measurement Book, while work on the remaining 11 components of the project had not commenced as of March 2023.
The audit further stated that the department acknowledged that the project had started before obtaining the necessary clearances and informed that payment for compensatory afforestation would be made in due course.