Arunachal CM family firms: Four firms, two owned by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu’s wife Tsering Dolma, and one each by his brother Tashi Khandu and sister-in-law Nima Drema, were awarded 146 work contracts worth Rs 383.74 crore by the state government in Tawang district alone between 2012 and 2023, as per an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court.
Of this, 59 contracts worth Rs 16.83 crore were awarded directly through work orders without a tender being floated. At least 11 of these work orders exceeded the Rs 50 lakh limit set in 2020 for contracts issued without tenders, which was meant to promote local professionals and entrepreneurs in the state.
The contracts were for the construction or maintenance of roads, bridges, drains, irrigation channels, power lines, retaining walls, community halls, cultural centres, residentialquarters, office and commercial buildings, tourism facilities, a war memorial, etc.
The Indian Express reviewed the list of contracts submitted in an affidavit by the Arunachal Pradesh government, after the Supreme Court directed the state to furnish the details this March. In a PIL filed last year, Save Mon Region Federation and Voluntary Arunachal Sena had alleged that government work orders were awarded to firms linked to the chief minister’s family. The two Arunachal-based organisations have sought the court to direct an investigation by the CBI or an SIT into the award of contracts.
On December 2, the apex court took note of the submission of the petitioners’ counsel, Prashant Bhushan, that the information provided by the state was not “complete/up to date” and directed the Arunachal government to file a comprehensive affidavit covering all the districts, including Tawang, pertaining to the period 2015 to 2025 within eight weeks. There are 28 districts in Arunachal.
Emails and messages sent to Khandu and his office remained unanswered.
In the affidavit, the state named four firms: M/s Frontier Associates and M/s Brand Eagles owned by Pema Khandu’s wife Tsering Dolma; M/s RD Construction owned by Pema Khandu’s brother Tashi Khandu; and M/s Alliance Trading Company owned by Nima Drema, wife of Pema Khandu’s brother and Tawang MLA Tsering Tashi.
In Tawang district alone, M/s Frontier Associates and M/s Brand Eagles bagged 42 contracts worth Rs 209.6 crore, while M/s RD Construction secured 13 orders worth Rs 29.1 crore and M/s Alliance Trading Company 91 orders worth Rs 145.04 crore, the affidavit states. Of these, 59 contracts were awarded without a tender.
As per the affidavit, contracts were awarded to firms owned by Khandu’s wife by the Public Works Department, the Rural Works Department, and the Water Resources Department in Tawang, as well as the PWD and the Block Development Office in the district’s Jang subdivision.
In 2015, the state government passed a law to give preference to local professionals and entrepreneurs “to secure equitable distribution of state development work” as part of the government’s policy. An amendment in 2020 specified the list of works requiring “no special technical know-how” and “costing up to Rs 50 lakh” through work orders, without tenders, at justified rates to local contractors.
However, 11 work contracts awarded to the four companies prior to the 2020 amendment exceeded the Rs 50 lakh limit, while another five were capped at Rs 50 lakh, the affidavit shows. For example, the work contract for “establishment of government college in Tawang” issued to M/s Alliance Trading in 2018 was worth Rs 2 crore.
In its affidavit, the state sought to explain the awarding of contracts through work orders, stating that it is normal practice in Arunachal Pradesh given “the historic development of the transition of the state of Arunachal Pradesh from predominantly tribal way of life to a modern-day state”.
Stating that the land for developmental activities in villages is given by villagers free of cost for employment in the contract work, the state’s affidavit says, “The normal practice adopted here is that the government contract work is initially allotted to one contractor who is accustomed and used to the concerned village and is eligible, available and willing to undertake the contract work. The villagers normally prefer the contract firm provided by their elected representatives as they have maximum trust and flexibility to carry out the work under such contract firms.”
It states that the tender system is adhered to “wherever complicated works require high competence, skill and capability is involved.”
The affidavit also stated that 95% of the contracts awarded to firms and individuals concerned were through the process of open tender. “Since almost all the contracts were awarded through the process of open tender after inviting and evaluation of technical and financial bids, there can be no allegations of pick and choose or that undue favours were made to the respondents or firms/individuals related to them,” it states.
The Supreme Court Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta remarked that the allotment of these many contracts to the CM’s family is a “remarkable coincidence”. The next hearing is scheduled on February 3.
