Agartala, March 24: Senior Congress MLA and former minister Sudip Roy Barman on Monday raised serious concerns in the Tripura Assembly regarding a memorandum of settlement (MoS) between the Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) and a Jharkhand-based construction agency.
The deal, according to him was finalized in the chamber of an outgoing judge of the High Court of Tripura, and has flagged allegations of irregularities.
Roy Barman said that as per the MoS, TCA has agreed to pay Rs 28 crore as escalation charges for project delays, with Rs 25 crore due on March 25—just a day after the retirement of the said High Court judge. Additionally, TCA has also mutually agreed to clear a previous balance of Rs 4.96 crore by May 7.
Raising the matter shortly after zero hour, Roy Barman questioned why TCA office bearers had consented to such a high settlement amount, alleging that the deal appeared “fishy.”
He criticized the secrecy surrounding the negotiations, which took place in the outgoing judge’s chamber, and urged Chief Minister Manik Saha to intervene and halt the immediate payment.
However, CM Saha responded that the government has no scope to interfere in the matter, but assured that he would seek further details before commenting.
Roy Barman later speaking to reporters further pointed out that escalation charges for the project were initially set at Rs 13 crore in 2019, of which more than half was paid and while some increase over the years was expected, he found the jump to Rs 28 crore “absolutely absurd.”
Roy Barman, a seven-time MLA reiterated his suspicions. “This is something fishy. There seems to be a nexus between the TCA and the pronouncement of the judgment. Nowadays, nobody is above suspicion, not even judges especially after the Delhi High Court incident. Judges of the Supreme Court and High Court no longer belong to such a club of exclusive people where we won’t scan them,” he remarked.
The allegations have raised serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the functioning of TCA and the judiciary’s involvement in arbitration proceedings.
