Road repair: RTI activist protests failure of Ludhiana MC to submit report to vigilance department

RTI activist protests failure of Ludhiana MC to submit report to vigilance department regarding “multi-crore scam” in road repair works; ₹212 cr is said to have been spent on the maintenance of roads

With the municipal corporation (MC) failing to submit a report with the vigilance department regarding the alleged multi-crore scam where ₹212 crore is said to have been spent on the maintenance of roads from 2015 to 2020, RTI activist Rohit Sabharwal staged a peaceful protest outside the MC Zone D office on Friday.

RTI activist Rohit Sabharwal stages a protest against the failure of the Ludhiana MC to submit report to the vigilance department regarding alleged multi-crore scam in road repair works. (Harsimar Pal Singh/ HT)

Sabharwal said the vigilance department had sought the report from the MC in February, but the report had still not been submitted by the MC despite repeated reminders by the vigilance department.

Sabharwal alleged that it was a scam through which crores of rupees were drained out of the state exchequer by MC officials through corrupt practices. Citing the information collected through RTI, Sabharwal said in the reply to an RTI application, the MC officials stated that ₹212 crore had been spent only on maintenance/repairs of the roads, which was surprising as the roads had been in a bad shape for the last few years.

He had filed a complaint with the local bodies department and the vigilance department in February following which a vigilance inquiry was marked. The vigilance department has been demanding a report from the MC, but the officials have failed to submit the same, which points towards anomalies.

Meanwhile, MC additional commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said the entire amount had not been spent on repairs, but it also included the amount of road reconstruction works and other maintenance works. A report regarding the same is being prepared and it will soon be submitted to the department.