Shillong, March 7: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday said the state was able to get over Rs 7,427 crore worth projects during the last seven years and Rs 2,400 crore was also sanctioned by the Centre for the Meghalaya Economic Growth Corridor due to the professional works through engagement of consultants.
He was replying to questions raised by opposition in the Assembly on the government’s decision to engage consultants and the need to train local youth for consultancy jobs.
According to the chief minister, 39 individual consultant and 69 consultancy firms are being engaged in the state presently.
Justifying this decision, Sangma said in the last seven years, the government was able to bring in as many as 13 externally aided projects (EAPs) after competing globally.
“Because of the professional works, we are getting funds worth over Rs 7,427 crore,” he added.
Also, the chief minister informed, “We went and met the finance minister and she told us to immediately submit detailed project reports (DPRs) in regards to the Meghalaya Economic Growth Corridor project within two hours. Just because of the consultants we engaged we were able within seven days get Rs 2,400 crore sanctioned by the ministry of finance.”
He also mentioned that the Meghalaya was also the first state to put up the proposal for the Rs 132 crore Utility Mall project and said the mall is going to be run by local youth.
Sangma however informed that the process is on to develop skills and capaciy of local boys and girls for consultancy jobs.
“Before hardly 2-3% of local youths are working in consultancy firms. However, now we are almost touching 30 percent during the last 5-6 years,” he said while assuring that the government would try its best to ensure more and more youth joined the field.
Further, the chief minister said that there is no extra burden on the state exchequer since 1 percent of the project cost is for payment to the consultants.
VPP legislator from Nongkrem Ardent M Basaiawmoit while raising supplementary question alleged that the government is paying lakhs of rupees to such consultants and end up paying only thousands of rupees to local people despite the hard work they put in to which the chief minister clarified that the system of payment is very transparent.
“Question of paying more to outsders and paying less to our boys and girls does not arise as that is not the way things work,” Sangma said.
When leader of opposition Mukul Sangma alleged that the consultants are drawing salary more than the officers of the state, the chief minister said that the matter is being done through a tendering process and that the company is engaged is paying to the culsulants.
Earlier in his reply, Sangma said informed the House that the total number of emoluments paid per annum to the above consultants cannot be determined due to the heterogeneity of the period of payment amongst the departments and scope of work and timeline of projects.
He said that source of funding is from the specific project under which the consultants are hired.
“Mostly, the travelling expenses is inclusive in the project cost. However, there are cases that the state government bears the expenses for official work as required by the state government beyond the scope of activities as per the agreement,” the CM added.
