Imphal, December 03: Lack of communication between State government institutions and missing link among officials of manipur (Manitron) has not only created problems in financial management but has strained Manitron's own working atmosphere.

The financial problem arised after the Chief Election Officer (CEO), Manipur assigned the task of computerising electoral rolls to Manitron with the total work amount informed to be around Rs 78.60 lakhs, said a Manitron official on ground of anonymity.

After an agreement was signed on November 9, 2004 in consonance with the said work and even though an advance payment of Rs 20 lakhs had been released to Manitron no further sanction was made despite electoral roll computerisation nearing completion.

When an inquiry was made on why the balance amount had not been released it came to light that Election Department had made another payment of Rs 19,86,961 which never entered the Manitron exchequer, disclosed the source.

In response to a letter from Manitron's Managing Director on September 13, the CEO detailed that the second payment was released as honorarium and contingency expenditures of 27 employees of the State's industrial undertaking who were utilised in preparation of the electoral rolls.

dissatisfied with the CEO's reply, the Manitron Chairman is informed to have relayed to the Chief Secretary jarnail Singh on September 21 that no such payment had been received by the public corporation till date.

The Chairman's missive even cast doubt on financial dealing by the Election Department asserting that under no circumstance would Manitron endorse the second payment as no such record had been entered in the books of account of the public enterprise, maintained the source.

Not ruling out involvement of bureaucrats in matters that concerns only Manitron and the election Department, the source lamented that such bureaucratic intervention had created divisions among the former's workers/employees as they are the one hit hard by the wrangling due to non-payment of salaries for over six months.

Another instance compounding the wrangling arised when the CEO issued an order on January 11, 2005 describing 53 Manitron staffs engaged in the electoral roll computerisation process as 'deemed to be on deputation' to which the Managing Director wrote another letter to the Chief Secretary charging the CEO's order as violation of terms and conditions of the agreement signed with Manitron.

The MD's missive while clearly pointing out the contents of the agreement is said to have conveyed to the Chief Secretary that Manitron being sole agency for work on the electoral rolls computerisation would also be responsible for providing manpower and requisite materials.

The source also cited Manitron Chairman as stating that there was no provision in the agreement for deputation of staff and had even intimated to the CEO that Manitron would not entertain violation of the agreed norms in any form.

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