The Haryana Government has suspended three officials of the public works department (PWD, B&R), including an executive engineer (XEN)-level officer, for alleged negligence in duty, officials said on Friday.
In an order issued on Wednesday, three officials – Nishant Kumar, executive engineer (civil) (CDC), Puneet Mittal, sub- divisional engineer (civil) (now, EE, CDC) and Rajesh Tanwar, junior engineer (civil). All were earlier posted in Ambala.
Anurag Rastogi, additional chief secretary (ACS), PWD (B&R), who issued the orders on behalf of the government, said the suspension relates to the irregularities in the construction of a football stadium in the Ambala Cantonment.
On being contacted, Nishant Kumar, said, “I’m aware of the order, but there is no specification of the reason. The government is yet to seek my explanation.”In January, all the officials were transferred by the department and the then SDE Puneet Mittal was promoted as executive engineer in Kurukshetra, sources said.
The suspension comes months after the misappropriation of funds in the construction of a FIFA-approved international football stadium coming up at the War Heroes Memorial Stadium came to the fore last year. The stadium is one of the dream projects of the home minister and local MLA Anil Vij.
The tender of the construction was allotted to Jind-based contractor, M/S Garg and Company in April 2017 at a cost of ₹48.57 crore, with a date of completion in April 2019. The project will have an IAAF-approved synthetic track, FIFA-approved artificial football turf, central pavilion, VIP and media lounge, conference hall-cum-training room and a capacity of 3,700 spectators. However, it missed several deadlines and the cost of the project was revised at least twice and currently carries a cost of ₹115 crore.
{{/usCountry}}The tender of the construction was allotted to Jind-based contractor, M/S Garg and Company in April 2017 at a cost of ₹48.57 crore, with a date of completion in April 2019. The project will have an IAAF-approved synthetic track, FIFA-approved artificial football turf, central pavilion, VIP and media lounge, conference hall-cum-training room and a capacity of 3,700 spectators. However, it missed several deadlines and the cost of the project was revised at least twice and currently carries a cost of ₹115 crore.
{{/usCountry}}HT had reported in December how its construction is hanging fire for several years, where the officials had then asserted that the project got delayed due to changes in specifications and designs. During his visit to Ambala in the first week of January, deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, who holds the PWD portfolio, had accepted that there had been irregularities in the construction of the stadium and a committee was formed to probe the same. “There had been a revision in its cost thrice, on the recommendation of the sports department. On the misutilisation, we have ensured that there is appropriate action against the officials involved and if needed, also against the contractor,” Chautala had said, without disclosing the amount involved in the alleged scam. Sources said the primary irregularities relate to the usage of rebar in the project worth ₹40-50 crore that never reached the site and money was awarded to the contractor using fake bills and other techniques.
“The government will soon terminate at least 60 contracts awarded to M/S Garg and Company in the state. There are six to seven projects allotted to the same company in Ambala, including the construction of an administrative block at Mini Secretariat in the city. The project is also under scrutiny,” one of the officials said.