After highlighting that municipal works wroth crores were allotted on single bids in the municipal corporations of Punjab by the former SAD-BJP government, local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has suspended four superintending engineers for awarding contacts on single or two bids.
Sidhu, while addressing the media on Thursday, said prima facie it is clear that 50 percent of the tenders worth crores were allotted on single bids in four municipal corporations of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. "Four SEs, two of Ludhiana (Pawan Sharma and Dharam Singh) and one each of Amritsar (PK Goel) and Jalandhar (Kulwinder Singh), are being suspended pending investigations. As many as 513 works were allotted on single bids -- half of total 1001 work orders which were scrutinised -- in these three MCs. Three contacts In MC of Amritsar, civil works under Hridaya project worth Rs 50 crore was awarded on single bid, another Rs 24 crore worth works were awarded on single bid for urban mission in Amritsar and Rs 15 crore worth in MC of Jalandhar.
Sidhu said a vigilance team had inspected files of civic works for Amritsar municipal corporation and found that a large number of work orders were issued on single or two bids through the e-tendering process.
{{/usCountry}}Sidhu said a vigilance team had inspected files of civic works for Amritsar municipal corporation and found that a large number of work orders were issued on single or two bids through the e-tendering process.
{{/usCountry}}"We then got inspected funds received through Urban mission and Hridaya schemes. Based on the findings, a decision was taken to check contracts awarded by MCs of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Bathinda too duing 2016. It was found that the Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, which mandates that a house resolution is must for any work order above Rs 25,000 had been violated. Local government rules require certification that the rates of tenders are reasonable and comparable. But no such certification was done. The approval of the F&C committee of the municipal corporation too was not taken and the CVC guidelines too were flouted," he added.