Irregularities in Yaithibi Khunou Mega Food Park Project

In what is increasingly being seen as a blatant case of administrative defiance and financial misconduct, the Managing Director and Finance Officer of the Manipur Food Industries Corporation Limited (MFICL) have made contradictory statements while failing to comply with a binding order issued by the Manipur Information Commission (MIC).
The MIC had repeatedly directed MFICL to provide site inspection reports for works carried out under the Mega Food Park Project at Yaithibi Khunou, Thoubal District. The inspection reports were sought following a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by Khumanthem Dhanachandra Singh, who requested details on the status and implementation of the project. Despite this, MFICL continues to ignore the order.
The failure to submit inspection reports, despite repeated MIC orders, has raised serious concerns that payments may have been made without any physical verification. Government procedures mandate site inspections before clearing contractors’ bills, and no bill can be legally processed without on-site verification.
On 12.06.2025, during the course of the hearing, the Managing Director of MFICL, Hanjabam Bobby Sharma, submitted a letter to the Manipur Information Commission (MIC), stating that the office cannot furnish the inspection report as it could not be traced despite their best efforts. He further requested that the Measurement Book and a site visit report be treated as substitutes for the inspection report and urged the Commission to close the case without requiring submission of the original report.
Contradicting him, Finance Officer N. Roman Singh stated during the August 4, 2025 hearing that no formal site inspection was conducted and payments were made solely on the basis of the Measurement Book. These conflicting statements have deepened suspicions of payments without proper verification.
A detailed review of the Measurement Books submitted by MFICL reveals several glaring irregularities. Most notably, the date of measurement is missing from the Measurement Book; the entries lack any mention of dates, making it impossible to determine when specific construction activities such as earthwork, concreting, foundations, brickwork, or steelwork were actually carried out and when they were measured and verified.
This absence of chronological records is a serious violation of standard government procedures, which require the Measurement Book to clearly document the timeline and progress of work. The Measurement Book was signed and verified by one Takhellambam Sanatomba Singh (PMC-FE) without any mention of dates.
Such procedural lapses raise strong grounds for suspending payments, recovering funds, and initiating disciplinary inquiry. The lack of inspection reports also contradicts MFICL and its consultant Global AgriSystems Pvt. Ltd., both of whom had declared in payment orders that funds were released only after physical verification of work at the site.
In the payment orders issued by both MFICL and its consultant, Global AgriSystems Pvt. Ltd., it is explicitly stated that payments were made only after careful examination of the documents and verification of the work executed at the sites by the site engineers.
The absence of inspection reports directly contradicts these declarations, further fuelling doubts about the authenticity of the project records and raising serious concerns about possible manipulation and corruption.
Investigative reports by Imphal Times have consistently exposed inflated billing, fictitious progress claims, and poor-quality construction. Despite mounting evidence, no inquiry, audit, or disciplinary action has been initiated against the officials or contractors involved.
Among the most glaring discrepancies is the main entrance gate, built at a cost of Rs. 23.98 lakh. Experts and civil engineers estimate its actual value at no more than Rs. 3 lakh, indicating a shocking markup of nearly 800 percent. This alone has sparked public outrage and points to serious misappropriation of government funds.
Launched under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), the Mega Food Park was intended to catalyse growth in Manipur’s food processing sector. Instead, it has become a glaring example of how developmental initiatives are undermined by corruption and bureaucratic impunity.
For the establishment of the Mega Food Park at Yaithibi Khunou, MFICL reportedly issued work orders worth Rs. 21.30 crore to multiple contractors for the construction of roads, boundary walls, stormwater drains, steel buildings, and other core facilities. However, an on-ground inspection reveals that only a steel gate, a small section of the boundary wall, and a modest security barrack with a toilet have been constructed. There is no evidence of essential infrastructure such as factory units, processing sheds, or core facilities that the funds were intended to support.
MFICL had engaged Global AgriSystems Pvt. Ltd., a New Delhi-based consultancy, for ¹ 90 lakh to oversee project engineering, cost estimation, bid evaluation, and site monitoring. Despite these extensive responsibilities, the consultancy failed to ensure even basic oversight. The result has been a complete breakdown in project execution and accountability.
The high-value contracts and payments were approved by former MFICL Managing Directors Peter Salam and Joel G. Haokip to a network of contractors for work that remains largely invisible. Years have passed since the issuance of contracts, yet physical progress on the site is minimal. The depth of irregularities strongly suggests collusion between officials and contractors.
If left unaddressed, the Yaithibi Khunou Mega Food Park will not just stand as an abandoned project but as a symbol of unchecked corruption and a profound betrayal of public trust.
For full details on the irregularities, readers are advised to refer to Imphal Times reports dated March 21, 2025, March 25, 2025, and April 2, 2025.