Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 27: Stepping-up drive against corruption, Director Vigilance Organization, Jammu and Kashmir, Munir Khan has directed the officials to immediately take up all pending cases against the Government officers and officials and clear the backlog within the shortest possible time.
In a single day, the Vigilance Organization today booked 10 persons, eight of them Government officials including Superintending and Executive Engineers, Degree College Principal and private persons etc. Three of them including the Principal have been arrested.
The Director Vigilance Organization told the Excelsior that he has directed all officials of the Organization to clear the backlog of cases immediately by booking corrupt officials, presenting challan against them and making arrests, wherever required.
“The drive has been set into motion and it will continue till the backlog is cleared,’’ Khan said, adding the SVO will have zero tolerance against corruption.
He said booking 10 Government officials in very senior rank and private persons indicated that the Vigilance Organization has set into motion its drive against corruption.
In scam running into crores, the Vigilance Organization has booked four Engineers and two private persons after registering First Information Report (FIR) against them in Jammu.
The accused have been identified as DD Gorkha, then Superintending Engineer, PWD (R&B) Circle Udhampur, PS Sehgal, then SE, PWD (R&B), Reasi-Udhampur Circle, AK Gandotra, then Executive Engineer, PWD (R&B) Division Udhampur, VK Sharma, then Executive Engineer PWD (R&B) Division Udhampur and two private beneficiaries—Ashok Kumar and Harminder Singh.
They have been charged with committing glaring irregularities and gross violations of rules in allotment and execution of work of bridge during the year 2012-13. The Vigilance investigations have revealed that construction of abutments for 41.50 meters clean span motorable bridge on Thalora-Sartari road at Dugee Khad including construction of approaches was allotted at Rs 92.75 lakh as against the advertized cost of Rs 81.70 lakh in which only two contractors—Ashok Kumar and Harminder Singh, booked in the case, participated.
The then SE PWD Circle Udhampur instead of re-tendering work to ensure fair competition allotted the work to their blue eyed contractor, Ashok Kumar. The investigations revealed that the SE PWD Udhampur and Executive Engineer, PWD Udhampur subsequently allotted remaining work of Rs 177.28 lakh without calling tenders.
However, sources said, to cover their illegal act, they accorded three post factor approvals for Rs 60 lakh, Rs 42.08 lakh and Rs 60 lakh and one additional work order of Rs 15.2 lakh against the said work to the same contractor. The verifications showed that accused officers/officials grossly exceeded their monetary limit.
Further, work on Khu Nallah on Udhampur-Ramnagar road was also allotted at higher cost of Rs 29.01 lakh as against an advertised cost of Rs 22 lakh. In this work two, the same blue-eyed contractors participated and it was allotted to Harminder Singh by the Executive Engineer PWD Divisional Udhampur.
The Vigilance Organization Jammu today arrested Prof Hemla Aggarwal, then Principal SPMR College of Commerce, presently posted as Principal, Government Degree College Reasi. Jagdish Kumar, then Senior Assistant (Storekeeper) SPMR College of Commerce, has also been booked in the same case.
The Vigilance Organization investigations revealed that the Principal in abuse of her official position, purchased I-Mac system and other software including Final Cut Plugging, Edius 4 Canopus and Abode Master Collections CS3 for personal use and thereafter in connivance with another accused, prepared false and fictitious bills against these items causing loss of Rs 4.05 lakh to the State exchequer.
She was taken into custody today for questioning in the case.
The Vigilance Organization Kashmir have also arrested Rakesh Kumar, the then AEE PHE (M&P), Sub Division Ist Zainakot, Srinagar and Syed Aijaz Hussain, the then JE (Storekeeper) in the same division for their involvement in an FIR registered by the Vigilance Organisation at Srinagar.
The investigations conducted by the Vigilance Organization revealed that the accused had received 32.585 metric ton MS pipes from M/s Dadu Pipes Limited Ghaziabad and instead of adding received supply to the balance stock, they subtracted it.
The stock had been misappropriated, thereby causing a huge loss of Rs 34.39 lakh to the State exchequer.
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