In a strongly-worded letter addressed to the Governor of Manipur, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, MLA Dinganglung Gangmei (IAS Retd.), has called for urgent intervention over what he has described as a “huge conspiracy” in the awarding of government works in the Hill and Tribal Districts of the state.
The letter accuses certain government officials of colluding with “pseudo contractors” to fraudulently allocate work orders far beyond approved estimates and scheduled rates. The Chairman highlighted that such irregularities are especially rampant in the execution of infrastructure projects related to Education, Health, Roads, and Communication in the hill districts.
According to Gangmei, the conspiracy involves awarding work orders to contractors who have not passed the minimum qualifying standards. He cited cases where bidders ranked as low as 16th to 32nd—well outside standard eligibility norms—were given work orders for the construction of rigid pavements in district headquarters and for school and hostel buildings.
He questioned the credibility of the tendering and awarding process, expressing concern over how such projects would be executed efficiently when basic bottlenecks such as transportation, availability of raw materials, and local conditions of law, order, and topography were not being adequately considered. “I wonder how the work will be executed successfully,” he wrote, calling the process an administrative failure and financial mismanagement.
Gangmei described the situation as a “big scam” and warned that it could cause a “big embarrassment” for the BJP-led state government. He urged the Governor to take the matter seriously and to act against the responsible officials and contractors before more public funds are misappropriated and before the confidence of the hill people in the government erodes further.
The letter has raised eyebrows in the political and administrative corridors of Manipur, coming at a time when scrutiny over development works and resource allocation in the hill districts is already a sensitive issue amid ongoing ethnic and regional tensions.
The Governor’s office is yet to issue an official response to the concerns raised in the memorandum. However, the matter is expected to stir political debate in the days to come, particularly over accountability and transparency in development works in the tribal areas.