E-Paper
Tender for interlocking tiles in Nabha floated before end of defect liability period: Inquiry panel finding
Patiala district administration seeks action against six officials for concealing facts, dereliction of duty
The Patiala district administration has sought action against six officials of the Nabha municipal council, including an executive officer, for digging up a road that was already in good condition to lay interlocking tiles.
The action comes after a five-member inquiry committee found that Nabha MC had flouted government rules while floating tenders for laying of interlocking tiles on the Cinema Road.
The inquiry report, a copy of which is in possession of HT, stated that the defect liability period (DLP) of the said road was three years, implying that the old contractor was legally bound to repair defects, if any, for three years from the date of completion of the project. But in this case, the construction was completed on May 30, 2020, and new tenders were floated on September 15, 2021.
“How come the new tenders were floated just a year after the construction was complete,” the committee questioned.
The inquiry report also revealed that no bank guarantee — which is a mandatory requirement — was taken from the previous contractor.
“Had the due process been followed before floating tenders, the government would not have faced financial loss,” reads the inquiry report.
As per the district administration officials, junior engineer (JE) Jatinder Bains, assistant municipal engineer (AME) Amritpal Singh (now retired), and Sukhdeep Singh Kamboj (retired) have been found guilty of misleading the district urban infrastructure committee by concealing facts and submission of estimates before the competition of life span of premix road of three years. JE Ajay Gaba, AME Daman Devinder and EO Gurcharan Singh were found guilty of dereliction of duty.
Patiala deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney had ordered the inquiry after residents had submitted a written complaint about the reconstruction of the road.
