Shillong, May 19: The MDA government has rejected claims that the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department violated norms to award Rs 1,900-crore projects to a firm from outside Meghalaya, with Cabinet Minister and government spokesperson Wailadmiki Shylla asserting that the tender process was transparent and criteria-based.

Addressing allegations of favouritism, Shylla said every allotment under the department goes through a defined tendering framework.

“For any tendering process, for any allotment, there are certain sets of criteria or credentials. You have to have certain credentials and experience,” he said on Tuesday.  He stressed that the selection was not arbitrary.

“The government has followed the process in all of this infrastructure. All the required criteria were fulfilled,” Shylla said.

“It is not like we choose whomever we like. There are certain rules, a certain process we follow,” he added.

According to Shylla, the bidding was not restricted to any particular firm.

“If that person is getting the work, it is because we followed the rules and process. It is open for everyone who wants to come and participate,” he said.

He further stated that the norms were not designed to benefit a single bidder. “It does not mean we have created rules that only that person can come and participate,” Shylla said.

The clarification comes after opposition parties questioned the award of multiple Jal Jeevan Mission projects worth Rs 1,900 crore to a company based outside the state.

Also Read: State’s criminal plea against Sonam Raghuvanshi deferred to May 20: Meghalaya HC

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