Foreign firm looting exchequer of crores

Bhubaneswar: In what can be described as a blatant loot of the state exchequer, a private third party entity has been pocketing crores of rupees on the pretext of testing quality of drinking water supplied in nine cities across the state, while the original contractor has reportedly vanished from the scene.
It is worth mentioning here that some time back, the state government engaged a private entity to test quality of drinking water supplied to people in nine cities in state – Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Rourkela, Puri, Balasore, Sambalpur, Baripada and Bhadrak. As per an agreement the private party was promised `66.21 crore to complete the assignment over a period of 10 years. However, instead of undertaking the job itself, this private entity transferred the task to a third party, which is now pocketing the sum from the state government.
According to sources, the Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO) has tacitly allowed the private entity Spectro Analytical Labs Limited to violate the terms and conditions of its agreement with the state government by keeping Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the dark. The Central and the state governments have emphasised upon the provision of potable water to people in the above-mentioned nine cities under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. Huge resources too have been allocated for the purpose.
The Urban Development Department had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Spectro Analytical Labs Limited December 20, 2016 to test water samples by overlooking the state government’s laboratory.
The private company was supposed to start testing water samples within six months of singing of the MoU. Besides, it was mandatory for the company to inform the state government regarding its readiness to test water samples. As per the agreement, the entity would face action and penalty if it did not start water sample testing within the specified period.
Consequently, the company hurriedly inaugurated the laboratories October 22, 2017 even though they were not properly equipped to test water samples.
However, Spectro Analytical Labs Limited sold its entire laboratories to a foreign firm – Eurofins Scientific, November 16, 2017 without even informing the state government. As per the existing guidelines, the contractor was bound to inform the issue to the state, whereby the state government could sign a new agreement with another company after inviting fresh tenders.
While that was not done, currently Eurofins Scientific is testing water samples flouting all norms. “Senior PHEO officials are aware of the illegal act, but continue to pay huge sums to the new company without any valid agreement with it,” said a source.
As a third party is testing water samples without any official communication, who will take the responsibility if there is any issue over water testing, asked an observer. PHEO engineer in chief S. Laxmipathy said they are not aware of the third party issue. “We will look into the issue and serve notice on the firm with whom an agreement was signed for water testing. If required, we will blacklist the company,” he added.