AAP Minister Satyendar Jain under CBI radar

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a corruption case against Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, then Public Works Department (PWD) engineer-in-chief Sarvagya Kumar Srivastava in connection with the hiring of 24 architects for creation of a creative team in the PWD. The agency also raided five locations in the capital. The CBI also alleged that the budget requirement for formation of the creative was also made from unrelated heads which was improper and against the laid out government’s norms. 

The CBI said, “We have registered a case against the Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, four employees of PWD, then engineer-in-chief Sarvagya Srivastava, the then principal director (projects) Manu Amitabh, then Deputy Director (Admin) AK Pait and the then project manager, Flyover 21, PC Chanana and other unknown officials of the department.”

Jain, the minister in-charge of the PWD said, “CBI raids my house for hiring creative team by PWD. Professionals were hired for different projects. All were forced to leave by CBI,” Jain tweeted. As per the FIR, it is alleged that the minister tweaked the tender documents to facilitate the contract for hiring 24 professionals, who were to work on Mohalla clinics and other PWD projects. The private company, Soni Detective and Allied Services Private Ltd, owned by Sanjay Verma, Rekha Verma and Raj Singh Naulakha, was given the contract for hiring the architects. The detective agency was ineligible for bidding but the minister tweaked the tender process to bring it on board.

The FIR states, “As per a communication from the office of Minister of PWD (Satyendar Jain) dated September 1, 2015, engineer-in-chief (Projects) was directed to hire 16 professionals for a creative team. The communication also specified the remuneration for each of the categories.” Accordingly, the PWD invited applications. But, on February, 25, 2016, the minister issued another directive saying that 24 professionals were required. Jain also spoke about the qualifications and the “trending market rate” -- from Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh per month.

It was found that there was no document to show that any market survey was done to reach the trending market rate of Rs 1 lakh. It was found that the Soni detective agency, who were offered the tender, ran from a room at Madangir in Delhi.

TWO COMPANIES

• RSMS Architects Pvt Ltd and Soni Detective and Allied Services Pvt Ltd responded to the tender  
   
• Of the two, Soni was finally selected, though it was not an architectural firm, the FIR stated