The deadline for completion of the BharatNet Project has been prolonged until June 2021 from December 2020, and a discover has been issued to Tata Projects Ltd for failing to satisfy projected milestones however no penalty has been levied to this point, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has informed the Assembly.
Awarded to Tata in July 2018, the undertaking was initially scheduled to be accomplished in a yr. It includes laying an optical fibre community protecting 32,466 km, linking 85 blocks and 5,987 gram panchayats throughout 27 districts within the state.
Despite the state authorities levying a penalty of Rs 200 crore as per phrases of the settlement between the corporate and the state, and imposition of the penalty being ratified by a Chief Secretary-led committee, Baghel in his written assertion within the Assembly on Tuesday stated that no penalties have been levied. “Timeline for the agency has been extended thrice. We have given them a show cause notice as part of our procedure to levy penalty,” his assertion learn.
The Chief Minister was responding to a query by BJP chief Ajay Chandrakar, who requested in regards to the cash concerned within the undertaking by way of Central and state funds, the progress, extension of deadlines and penalties.
By September 2020, Tata Projects might guarantee broadband-ready infrastructure in only one,394 gram panchayats (24 per cent of the goal), The Indian Express had discovered. However, in his assertion, the Chief Minister stated that work had completed in 2,764 villages. “Work is pending in 3,223 villages. Their payments had been stopped to build pressure, and once work started, it was paid back to them,” Baghel stated.
After Tata Projects failed to satisfy targets, the CEO of Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society (ChIPS) had in November 2018 invoked a penalty of Rs 164 crore — after issuing three notices to the agency since August — that yr. In February 2019, ChIPS invoked the utmost penalty equal to Rs 200.95 crore — 12 per cent of the entire capex of Rs 1,674.2 crore. This quantity was rolled again with the federal government paying Rs 28 crore to the corporate towards deductions made earlier by the state authorities.
Government officers have negated the penalties, citing discrepancies within the process.
In the Assembly, Baghel stated the undertaking was delayed due to the time-taking technique of getting approvals from numerous departments comparable to railways, and so forth.
Demanding that the reply be given in Hindi, Chandrakar stated, “I am not satisfied with his answer and will follow it up.”
“The Chief Minister has completely glossed over the fact that a committee under the Chief Secretary levied the penalty. Why was the process of issuing the letters not started in the two-year delay till last year,” Chandrakar requested.
