E-Paper
‘Irregularities’ in allotment of industrial plots: VB books 6 ex-PSIEC officials, 2 arrested
According to the VB, these officers/employees had misused their official positions and wrongly allotted expensive industrial plots to their relatives, friends and known persons thereby causing a financial loss of ₹8.72 crore to the state exchequer.
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has registered a case against six officials (now retired) of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) and arrested two of them for “irregularities” in the allotment, regularisation and bifurcation of industrial plots.
The accused officials are SP Singh, chief general manager, Jaswinder Singh Randhawa, general manager, Amarjeet Singh Kahlon, estate officer, Vijay Gupta, senior assistant, Darshan Garg, consultant, and Savtej Singh, SDO.
The VB arrested SP Singh and Randhawa on Saturday and produced them before a court, which granted their four-day remand to the bureau for further investigation. A hunt is on to arrest the remaining accused.
According to the VB, these officers/employees had misused their official positions and wrongly allotted expensive industrial plots to their relatives, friends and known persons thereby causing a financial loss of ₹8.72 crore to the state exchequer.
Disclosing this here on Saturday, an official spokesperson of the state VB said in this regard after investigation of a vigilance enquiry No. 3 dated April 4, 2018, another FIR has been registered against the above mentioned six officers/employees of the PSIEC under sections 409, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B and section 13(1), 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station, Vigilance Bureau, Flying Squad-1, Punjab, SAS Nagar.
He revealed that during investigation it has come to light that the PSIEC had not adhered to the prescribed instructions at the time of the allotment of industrial plots. The officers/employees of the corporation, misusing their position, wrongly allotted expensive industrial plots to their relatives/friends/known persons, causing huge financial losses to the government. To suppress this scam, the accused in connivance with each other have also lost some government files related to the illegal allotment of plots.
The spokesperson further informed that there is no provision in the policy regarding providing zero percent interest in the said corporation, however, as per the noting dated August 1, 2000, of the managing director of the corporation and the resolution passed by the Board of directors on February 8, 2005, a waiver was granted in this regard, but both these orders had not been notified by the state government.
He added that Randhawa had allotted plots in the name of his close relative/friend/unknown person. SP Singh, while misusing his position, wrongly changed the allotment and possession of industrial plots of the corporation and assisted Randhawa in getting the plots allotted to his known persons/relatives, as the applicants were interviewed by Singh.
He further added that with the connivance of the said officials of the corporation, had waived revenue of 14 plots located in the Industrial Focal Point, SAS. Nagar and caused a total revenue loss of ₹ 8,72,71,66 to the government. Later, the occupants earned huge profits by selling these plots through property dealers at market rates. Further investigation into this matter was under progress, he said.
