A deep investigation by the Imphal Times team has uncovered extensive irregularities, mismatched documentation, and chronic non-compliance in the failed Food Testing Laboratory project at Nilakuthi Food Park, Imphal East.
The project, sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana with a total approved cost of Rs. 760.93 lakh, has now collapsed under the weight of procedural violations and unanswered government communications.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has withdrawn its approval of the first instalment payment and directed the Manipur Food Industries Corporation Limited (MFICL) to refund Rs. 304.37 lakh — the first instalment released — along with 10% penal interest.
The funds were released and utilised during the tenure of Peter Salam as Managing Director of MFICL. Imphal Times had earlier exposed similar irregularities in the implementation of the Mega Food Park at Yaithibi Khunou, Thoubal, by MFICL, which also took place under his leadership.
The problems began surfacing in early 2022, when MFICL uploaded documents on the SAMPADA portal seeking the second instalment after utilisation of the first instalment. Upon scrutiny, the Ministry issued a letter on August 5, 2022, highlighting a series of discrepancies that raised serious doubts about the integrity of the procurement and reporting process.
One of the key issues involved Invoice No. 737/21-22/MEDIS dated January 26, 2022, covering 27 equipment items. The Ministry found that this invoice did not match the corresponding E-way Bill or Delivery Challan, a basic requirement for verifying that the equipment listed was actually transported and delivered. An equally troubling mismatch occurred with Invoice No. 931/21-22/MEDIS dated March 24, 2022, for a Nitrogen Evaporator, which also did not correspond with the Delivery Challan submitted by MFICL.
The financial discrepancies were even more significant. MFICL’s Annexure VIB claimed that Rs. 301.00 lakh had been spent on equipment, stating that the promoter contributed Rs. 2 lakh while Rs. 299 lakh came from MoFPI funds. However, these figures were not reflected in Annexure V and Annexure VIII, revealing contradictory financial reporting within the same submission.
Additionally, the cost of Technical Civil Work was reported inconsistently: Annexure VII showed an expenditure of Rs. 14.15 lakh, whereas Annexure VIII listed only Rs. 5.37 lakh. Such contradictory declarations in official documents point either to severe administrative negligence or deliberate manipulation of figures.
Instead of clarifying these discrepancies, MFICL remained silent. The Ministry demanded revised E-way Bills, Delivery Challans, corrected annexures, and proof of registration and annual turnover of Hovers Lab and Analytical Technologies — the firm that supplied the equipment. None of these documents have ever been submitted to date.
The Ministry’s repeated reminders were ignored for months. Letters sent on December 12, 2022, and March 13, 2023, were escalated to the Chief Secretary of Manipur. A high-level review meeting convened on February 20, 2023, was left unattended by MFICL representatives. Two separate show-cause notices, issued on May 19 and June 26, 2023, warned that continued non-compliance would lead to cancellation of approval and recovery of funds with interest. Neither notice received a response.
With the MFICL failing to correct or explain the irregularities, the Ministry ultimately withdrew its approval on July 24, 2023. It ordered MFICL to refund the Rs. 304.37 lakh released as the first instalment, along with 10% penal interest calculated from December 4, 2020 — the date the funds were issued — until full repayment. The Ministry instructed that the refund must be made via cheque in favour of the Pay and Accounts Office, MoFPI, New Delhi.
Ministry sources confirm that the amount has still not been refunded, raising concerns about the fate of public funds and the accountability of state institutions.
While the Ministry, in its letter dated 05.08.2022, stated that the equipment had been supplied by Hovers Lab and Analytical Technologies Limited, documents accessed by Imphal Times reveal a different picture. Records show that MFICL procured equipment worth Rs. 2,92,00,079 from M/s Medis, AyangpalliSoibam Leikai, on January 25, 2022. The mismatches between the invoices, E-way Bills, and Delivery Challans now raise serious doubts about whether the equipment was actually delivered as claimed — or whether the procurement process itself was carried out in a proper and transparent manner.
Three years after the release of central funds and long past the project’s deadline of October 5, 2022, the Food Testing Lab remains incomplete, unused, and clouded by unresolved inconsistencies.
The unanswered communications, mismatched financial records, and failure to account for equipment now prove that irregularities have been committed in this project — raising the question of whether public money allocated for infrastructure and food safety has been misused, mishandled, or left in limbo.
These are not the only irregularities within MFICL. Issues have also surfaced in the construction of the security barrack and the main gate at the Mega Food Park, Yaithibi Khunou. Taken together, these repeated controversies raise a serious public question: Is MFICL truly an agency for industrial growth — or has it become a machinery for officials’ gains?