Ludhiana | AAP alleges ₹65 lakh scam in streetlights project

Congress government accused of perpetrating a scam worth ₹65 lakhs in the garb of installation of streetlights in 26 villages in Ludhiana, allotted by it before the assembly elections.

The in-charge of Dakha constituency of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), KNS Kang, accused the Congress government of perpetrating a scam worth ₹65 lakhs in the garb of installation of streetlights in 26 villages, allotted by the latter before the assembly elections.

The scam came to light when it was found that in the utilization certificate, the amount used for the purpose was shown ₹65 lakhs, and when calculated, per light cost came out to be ₹7,288, instead of ₹3,325 . Then, it was found that the company had not installed the streetlights in most of the villages in Ludhiana and the block development and panchayat officer also confessed that he was forced to release the cheque to the firm (HT FILE)

Kang produced the documents of block development and panchayat officer and disclosed that a relative of Captain Sandeep Sandhu, who was contesting assembly election for the Congress party from Dakha, had forced the officer to issue a cheque of ₹65 lakh to the contractor, but till date, the contractor has not installed the streetlights in the villages.

In the documents, the block development and panchayat officer had written to station house officer Sidhwan Bet on June 16, seeking an FIR against Amar Electrical Enterprises. In the complaint letter, the officer mentioned that the firm has not installed streetlights in around 20 villages, as of now, and has not returned the amount as well.

Kang explained that prior to assembly elections, the Congress government had issued a grant of ₹65 lakhs for installation of streetlights in 26 villages of Sidhwan Bet on December 20 last year. On December 27, 2021, the application officer at panchayat samti, Sidhwan Bet, wrote a letter to XEN, Panchayati Raj, Ludhiana, to seek approval of the rate in which it was mentioned that Amar Electrical Enterprises has quoted the lowest rate of ₹7,288 per streetlight, but on December 31, 2021, the executive engineer of Panchayati Raj, Ludhiana, clearly mentioned that the per streetlight cost must not exceed ₹3,325, including light, wire, labour and control.

Later, on January 3, a duly signed utilization certificate also known as varton certificate released by Sidhwan Bet block development and panchayat office was sent to the government for releasing the payment after the completion of the task. According to the certificate, the amount used for the purpose was shown ₹65 lakhs, and when calculated, per light cost came out to be ₹7,288.

Then, it was found that the company had not installed the streetlights in most of the villages and the block development and panchayat officer also confessed that he was forced to release the cheque to the firm.