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Punjab Vigilance books 6 engineers, contractor for sand scam

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau today booked six engineers of irrigation department and a contractor for allegedly causing loss of Rs 5.47 crore to the state exchequer during desilting works of Harike Headworks barrage at its guide bandh (embankment).

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The Punjab Vigilance Bureau today booked six engineers of irrigation department and a contractor for allegedly causing loss of Rs 5.47 crore to the state exchequer during desilting works of Harike Headworks barrage at its guide bandh (embankment).

Chief Director-cum-ADGP Vigilance Bureau B K Uppal said the organisation received information about "commission of irregularities, misappropriation and criminal misconduct" by the engineers of irrigation department in collusion with the contractor during execution of desilting works of upstream side at Harike Barrage along right side of guide bandh near Harike Headworks.

"To probe the matter, vigilance teams were constituted which found that the engineers of irrigation department in connivance with a private contractor had caused a huge loss to the state government out of total contract amount of Rs 12.04 crore. It was awful to know that the accused engineers have paid Rs 5.47 crore to the contractor for completing only 45 per cent of the tendered work and didn't take any action against him for not completing the work in the stipulated time," he said.

Uppal said on the basis of the enquiry, a case has been registered against Chief Engineer Canals Jatinderpal Singh, Executive Engineers Vijaypal Singh Mann and Gulshan Nagpal, SDO Mukesh Goyal, Junior Engineers of Harike Canal Division Rishab and Vikramjeet Singh Pannu and contractor Ashok Kumar under various Sections of IPC and section 13 (1) (d) read with 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 at Police Station Vigilance Bureau, Ferozepur and investigation has been initiated.

Giving more details, he said the accused engineers by abusing their official positions have enhanced the cost of de-silting tender from Rs 1.47 crore to Rs 1.80 crore without the approval of the sanctioning authority, in April 2016.

Jatinderpal had allowed to open the tender at higher rates without prior administrative approval from the government and allotted the tenders to contractor Ashok Kumar by increasing its total cost to Rs 12.04 crore.

Uppal added that during enquiry, it has been found that the CE Canals had approved enhanced tender rates after about 40 days even without getting consent from the government.

It has also been felt during enquiry that the concerned engineers of irrigation department would have shown the entire amount of Rs 12.04 crore spent/utilised though a lot of work was still pending by the time of release of water, had the Vigilance Bureau not conducted a check or an enquiry.

The Vigilance Bureau's intervention dashed their plans to usurp the money, he added.

Uppal said Jatinderpal had "deliberately" favoured the contractor by not issuing any directions for proper disposal of de-silted sand as per the prescribed Mines and Minerals Rules.

He said that after transfer of CE canals, Ex En Gulshan Nagpal, in connivance with his seniors and junior engineers, never maintained the stock of excavated sand material costing approximately Rs 1.4 crore.

In addition to this, the accused engineers, in collusion with the contractor, have also allowed disposal of de-silted material at longer distances than the approved distance of 1.7 km.

The concerned JEs have entered longer distances in their Measurement Books than the prior approved distance causing a huge loss to the state exchequer, he said.

Uppal further added that the accused engineers have themselves added scope of work costing Rs 1.80 crore in the earlier approved tenders and allotted total works amounting to Rs 12.04 crore without calling for new tenders to favour the contractor.

Though the accused contractor delayed completion of the work and could complete only 45 per cent of work in three months yet the accused officers by misusing their official positions have released Rs 5.47 crore to the contractor and did not taken any action for getting the work completed in time and also not initiated any action against the contractor, Uppal said.

He said during the de-silting work, the accused irrigation engineers had never warned the defaulter contractor to accomplish the work within a stipulated time which itself explains their "collusion" with each other.

He said the vigilance officers have been directed to probe the scam thoroughly and guilty persons would not be spared.

 

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

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