 "US bribery case: SMC Infra-SPML joint venture executed Goa water project")
SMC Infrastructures, the "lead partner of SMC-SPML joint venture", was the "contractor". Nihon was listed as the consultant in the work titled 'Expansion of 100 MLD (million litres a day) water treatment plant and intake at Salaulim, Goa'.
The Rs 138.5-crore work is a key part of the Goa Water Supply and Sewerage Project that is in the limelight after US-based Louis Berger agreed to pay $17.1 million to resolve charges relating to payment of $976,630 as bribes to Indian officials.
More From This Section
Business Standard found the details of Indian entities displayed in a public board of the state's Public Works Department (PWD) at the water treatment plant near the Salaulim dam site. The dam and the plant, which have suddenly shot into focus, are about 40 km away from Madgaon city, whose thirst they seek to quench. Blue boards saying 'Salauli Water Works' guide vehicles along the way.
According to the ministry of company affairs' records, Arun Ramachandra Seth, Aniruddha Arun Seth, Suhas Narayan Mehta and Prashant Madhusudan Mahagaokar are directors of Mumbai-based SMC Infrastructures. SPML is a listed firm promoted by the Sethi family, led by chairman Subash Sethi. It was earlier known as Subash Projects.
Documents released by the US justice department quoted an August 2010 email, sent by a consortium partner to McClung, stated: "As discussed, I enclose the details as provided by (third-party intermediary)."
And: "I have also added the details of amounts paid to (the company) as of date by (the consortium partner) in the same sheet. The attachment included an entry, 'paid by (an agent of the company) to minister on behalf of agent'."
Further, the documents stated: "On or about August 26, 2010, a consortium partner prepared a payment tracking schedule stating that the company had paid $976,630 in bribes in connection with the Goa project to date."
The display board said the project was supposed to be completed in 30 months beginning April 2011. Being Sunday, the premises of PWD office at the site were deserted, barring some guards and locals who had taken shelter from the pouring rain in the security picket.
A place referred to as a plant by the locals, looked like an under-construction site, though it had two large water processing plant-like structures.
The Goa Water Supply and Sewerage Project was being developed under assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and is called the 'Jica project' in state government circles.
An ex-ante evaluation report on the Jica website said: "The objective of this project is to provide safe and stable water supply and sewerage services that will meet the rapidly increasing water demand by expanding and rehabilitating water supply facilities in the existing Salaulim Water Supply Scheme and by constructing and expanding sewerage facilities in Margao, Mapusa and North Coastal Belt, thereby contributing to improvement of the living conditions of residents." The project involved laying of transmission and distribution pipelines running into hundreds of kilometres.
The evaluation report, which referred to a loan agreement dated September 14, 2007, said the Japan Bank of International Cooperation had sanctioned a loan of ¥22,866 million and estimated the total project cost to be ¥27,766 million.
Indian news reports have put the project size at Rs 1,031 crore. The document listed the Goa PWD as the agency responsible for execution, operation and maintenance.
The Jica document estimated that Goa had a population of 1.4 million and attracted a large number of foreign tourists every year (1.8 million in 2005). Its climatic conditions were conducive to make it a model for the rest of the country.
"Goa has a favourable natural climate condition and is relatively abundant in rainfall (about 3,000 mm a year). Also, it has already installed metres at all end-users that allow water tariff collection based on monthly water consumption. Thus, Goa is considered to have sufficient administrative and institutional capacities to manage water volume properly in each water distribution district and adopt water saving measures, and, thereby, the project is expected to become the model for realising the first 24 hours x 7 days water supply service in India, having a head start over other states in the country," the report said.
Although the document put the expected date of completion as January 2014, the deadline got pushed to March 2015.
KEY DATA OF THE GOA PROJECT
TARGET AREA
Water supply: Mormugao, Salcete, Quepem and part of Sanguem, Goa
Sewerage: Margao & Mapusa, & North Coastal Belt
TOTAL PROJECT COST: ¥27,766 million
LOAN AMOUNT: ¥22,806 million
SCHEDULE: Aug 2007-Jan 2014. The project completion is defined as when the defect liability period expires
Source: jica.go.jp