US firm bribing scandal: Goa Congress remains defiant as BJP goes on offensive

The Louis and Berger international bribery scandal has reached the doorstep of a former Goa chief minister even as it also puts the spotlight back on the Rs 847 crore water and sewerage project in Goa funded by Japanese government whose mismanagement has already cost the state exchequer a loss of Rs 166 crore.

According to a report in The Indian Express, in what is being viewed as a fallout of the latest revelation in the matter, two senior executives of the controversial firm in India have quit their posts. Meanwhile, it has become fodder for political fight in Goa with the BJP taking the attack to the Congress camp.

A day after Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the $ 976,630 bribery allegations levelled against a Goa minister and officials, as revealed in United States Justice department documents, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s charge on Sunday has brought the role of then chief minister Digambar Kamat in question.

“The project was related to JICA (Japan International Co-operation Agency), therefore then PWD minister may be involved, but since the project also deals with financial approval, there is a likelihood that another minister might be involved,” Parrikar told party workers at a mahasampark campaign meeting in Margao, 35 km south of Panaji.

While the Public Works Department minister in 2010 was Churchill Alemao, the Congress-led coalition government of the day was headed by chief minister Digambar Kamat, who was also in-charge of the finance ministry.

Kamat, who is being probed for allowing illegal mining in Goa, told Firstpost that he was open to any inquiry deemed fit by the government. “Any PWD tender has a process and everything has to be done according to it. I am not involved in this. Let them investigate,” Kamat said, laughing off the charge made by Parrikar.

The New Jersey-based consultancy firm’s top officials have already pleaded guilty in a case which charged them for offering bribes to the tune of $ 3.9 million to secure contracts in Asian countries including India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kuwait, etc.

Among the Louis and Berger officials who have pleaded guilty to paying bribes is James McClung from the consultancy firm’s Dubai office, which oversaw the India operations. While the settlement announced by the Justice Department did not identify the politicians and officials who were offered the bribes, the documents revealed that the $ 9,76,630 was paid in bribe over a period of time from 2009-2010.

The consultancy firm was a part of an international consortium which had eventually won the contract to execute the JICA project in Goa. JICA is an independent governmental agency, which coordinates official development assistance for the government of Japan, which in 2007 had lent the Goa government the Rs 847.50 crore soft loan in order to build a major Water Supply and Sewerage project. The bribes allegedly were offered to secure the tender for execution of the project, which includes expansion and augmentation of three water treatment plants, which would cater to both the state’s districts catering to a population of about 6.60 lakh over 30 years.

The bribery scandal has stunned the Congress, which has been forced to put up a brave face. “The government should initiate a probe. We are ready,” leader of Opposition Pratapsingh Rane said.

Former PWD minister Alemao, who quit the Congress last year, said that he was unaware of the US treasury department documents, which have revealed the pay offs. “Yes, the Congress was in power that time. But I do not know what documents you are talking about,” Alemao said.

The shoddy implementation of the JICA project by the implementing agencies was exposed in a CAG report tabled in the state legislative assembly last year. The CAG report said that the Goa government had squandered Rs 166.37 core due to delay and poor implementation of a water and sewerage project.

“The delay in tendering of works under JICA projects resulted in additional burden of Rs 166.37 crore to the state government. Moreover, delays in tender acceptance resulted in additional liability of Rs 69.02 crore due to price escalation,” the report said.

(The writer is Goa correspondent for the Indo Asian News Service)