Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 9: Minister for R&B Abdul Majid Wani during his surprise visit to Stores and Procurement Division found several officials including its Deputy Director absent from duty and ordered immediate action in this regard.
During the inspection of the facility, it was found that minimum cement reserves were not being maintained in the stores. Against the total capacity of 2,40,000 cement bags, only 1200 cement bags were available. The Minister was told that despite repeatedly taking up the matter with suppliers, they have failed to supply the required quantity of cement due to which working of all divisions has severely suffered.
The Minister ordered immediate enquiry into the matter and asked for necessary action against both the store procurement officials and local suppliers Khyber Cements and TCI MAX. He called for regular quality control checks of all construction material supplied and stored in the facility besides introducing new competitive bidding and tendering in the entire procurement process.
Taking serious note of poor management of bitumen and steel in the store, the Minister ordered for proper storage of bitumen and steel as per norms. He said that bitumen drums should be stocked properly and leakage plugged immediately. It was informed that 4834 MT bitumen and total 700 MT of steel is available in the store.
The Minister also took stock of all sections in the facility and checked stock register, stock receipts, issues etc. He directed the officials to maintain records accurately and correctly besides bringing any irregular transactions to the notice of their senior officials immediately. The Minister also directed for taking immediate necessary action against officials found absent on duty during the surprise inspection including Deputy Director Stores and Procurement, Raj Pal Assistant Director Cements Sunil Gupta Assistant Director Steel Rajesh Sharma AE Harminder Singh Accounts Officer Ramesh Chander Sharma and TO to the Accounts Officer.
Later, R&B Minister inaugurated the macadamization work on the important 4 lane Satwari- Kunjwani road.
On the occasion, Mr Wani directed for maintaining quality and conforming to the agreement conditions and specifications. He directed officials of R&B Material Testing Lab who were also present on the occasion to conduct regular surprise checks in the field, collect samples and after testing them for quality standards, report the findings so that any deviations or malpractices get noticed and dealt as per law. He stressed on regular site inspection and monitoring of all road projects in the state to avoid delays in completion, removing bottlenecks and to ensure work is executed as per specifications.
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