MCG’s newly formed vigilance wing suspends JE, serves show cause notices to two more

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) constituted a dedicated vigilance wing on Wednesday to deal with complaints registered with the CM window, PM grievances

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) constituted a dedicated vigilance wing on Wednesday to deal with complaints registered with the CM window, PM grievances portal, Lokayukta inquiries, matters pertaining to state vigilance bureau and other inquiries marked by the Haryana government.

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In its first task after being formed, a junior engineer was suspended by additional commissioner Amardeep Jain, who heads the vigilance wing, late on Wednesday night, while a sub-divisional officer and an executive engineer were also served a show-cause notice and asked to explain the discrepancies found in the ongoing construction of a green belt and footpath between Bristol Chowk and Khushboo Chowk along the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road.

The 1.7-kilometre track has come under the scanner after the ward councillor of the area had, last week, highlighted that work amounting to an estimated expenditure of ₹11 lakh had been completed, despite a total payment of ₹35.35 lakh being made to the contractor in October 2019.

In addition, terrazzo tiles worth ₹17.40 lakh were also missing despite an agreement between the MCG and the contractor specifying the use of the stated materials.

Subsequently, an inquiry into the matter was marked, the report of which was submitted to MCG commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh on Wednesday,

“On finding irregularities in the project, a junior engineer has been suspended with immediate effect, while other officers have been given a show-cause notice and asked for clarification. If the reply to the notice is not found to be satisfactory, further action will be taken against them as per rules. These actions were taken after investigating the matter related to irregularities in the work of the green belt on Gurgaon-Faridabad Road,” the order issued by Amardeep Singh, a copy with Hindustan Times, states.

Of the 1.7 km stretch, work on 600 metres had already been completed in 2018. A fresh work order was issued on September 10, last year for completing the remaining 1.1 kilometres.

As per MCG officials, besides the discrepancies listed by the councillor, there were major irregularities found in the measurement book for the project that led to the JE’s suspension.

A measurement book is a catalogue where all the expenditures and materials used in construction are updated against the payment to the contractor made by the MCG.

The MCG commissioner issued the order for the formation of a vigilance wing with “immediate effect” on Wednesday. Singh’s order stated that the vigilance wing be headed by Jain, while superintendent engineer, Satyavan Sharma, also be included in the wing to assist him.

“The idea behind formulating a dedicated wing is to bring more transparency to the corporation, while also ensuring a swifter response to the grievances of residents and long-pending issues of the MCG. We realised that it was difficult for different wings to address these issues on their own while also simultaneously carrying out development works across the city. Hence, a separate wing has been created to address pending investigations and issues, while also highlighting discrepancies in ongoing projects and functioning of the MCG,” a senior MCG official said.

Singh’s order empowered the vigilance wing to hire a third party agency to collect samples of civic infrastructure works and get them tested at state government laboratories.

The order further said that all branches of the MCG have been directed to cooperate with any future investigation of the vigilance wing.

Officials said that the newly formed wing will also acquire 10% samples of ongoing construction works of the MCG, at random, for a quality check.