Old equipment installed at power station in Panchkula village

The discrepancy came to the fore during an inspection carried out by Haryana Vidhan Sabha speaker Gian Chand Gupta, who also sought an inquiry

Old equipment is being installed at the 66kV power house being constructed at a cost of Rs 8 crore at Taparia village in Panchkula. The discrepancy came to the fore during an inspection carried out by Haryana Vidhan Sabha speaker Gian Chand Gupta on Monday.

The power house is to supply electricity to the surrounding 12 villages and has been a long-standing demand of locals.

An official release claimed that Gupta visited the spot following a complaint and found many irregularities, including “burnt transformers, old panels and wires installed in the power station”.

“Many points were burnt and many machines did not have complete equipment,” it stated, adding that as the engineers “could not give satisfactory answers”, Gupta had a telephonic conversation with TC Gupta, additional chief secretary of the electricity department.

“The matter should be investigated thoroughly and strict action should be taken against the officials concerned,” said Gupta. It has also been alleged that the old panel has been brought from Gurugram while the price of new equipment has been added to the estimates.