Contract row: Arunachal CMO contests ‘partial, unfounded’ allegations by media over SC order

Itanagar, Dec 5 (PTI) The Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Friday rejected what it described as “partial” and “unfounded” media reports on a Supreme Court order directing the state to submit an affidavit detailing all contracts awarded from 2015 to 2025, including those to firms of family members of CM Pema Khandu.

In a statement to PTI, the CMO alleged that several reports, influenced by political rivals and seeking to tarnish the chief minister’s image, reflected only the petitioners’ claims and overlooked the state government’s submissions before the top court.

It said that out of works valued at nearly Rs 1,000 crore listed in the petition, only a small portion went to firms owned by Khandu’s relatives.

While hearing a plea seeking a CBI probe into the alleged awarding of contracts for public works in the state to the firms owned by the family members of Khandu, a bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that it would consider whether any inquiry is required or not, and passed the order on December 2.

In the statement, the CMO said the writ petition, filed in January 2024 by civil society organisations Voluntary Arunachal Sena and the Save Mon Region Federation, accused the state government of awarding a large number of contracts in Tawang district to firms allegedly owned by relatives of Khandu.

The petitioners had annexed lists of works awarded since 2009, alleging that tender norms were violated to benefit the chief minister’s family members.

According to the CMO, the state government informed the Supreme Court that the lists included in the petition were “incorrect”, and in fact, general compilations of works were awarded to various contractors, not exclusively to firms linked to the chief minister.

After considering the explanation, the Supreme Court on March 18 directed the state to file a detailed affidavit specifying all contract recipients mentioned in the petition and an additional affidavit, including those allegedly owned by the Khandu’s relatives.

“The government complied with the direction and submitted the complete data,” the statement said.

Out of around 1,000 works worth nearly Rs 1,000 crore listed in the petition, the CMO said, only a small portion pertained to firms owned by Khandu’s relatives.

“Brand Eagles received 31 works amounting to Rs 18,803.13 lakh between 2012 and 2023, Frontier Associates received 11 works worth Rs 2,158.37 lakh between 2010 and 2014, RD Construction received 13 works worth Rs 2,908.35 lakh between 2010 and 2020, and Alliance Trading Co received 91 works amounting to Rs 14,503.89 lakh between 2010 and 2023,” it said.

All these companies were owned by the relatives of the chief minister.

The CMO emphasised that the majority of the contract value awarded to these firms, ranging from over 90 per cent to 99 per cent, was through tendering.

During the hearing on December 2 last, the petitioners argued that the state had limited its disclosures to Tawang district alone.

“The state’s counsel clarified that this was because the petitioners’ allegations themselves pertained only to Tawang, and the state had complied strictly with the Supreme Court’s March 18 directive. The counsel added that the government was prepared to furnish contract details from all districts if the court so directed,” the statement said.

After hearing both sides, the Supreme Court ordered Arunachal Pradesh to file a detailed affidavit covering all districts other than Tawang, for which information had already been submitted earlier.

The CMO said several media organisations ‘deliberately ignored’ the state government’s rebuttals and arguments before the court and appeared to have been ‘influenced by political rivals’ seeking to tarnish the chief minister’s image. PTI UPL NN