After the suspension of four officials in connection with alleged irregularities in the construction of Rampura-Maur road, the inquiry into the matter has now been handed over to state vigilance bureau.
About 20-km stretch of the road that was laid at an expenditure of Rs 13 crore between June 2011 and July 2012 had developed big potholes within a year of completion of the work. The locals have been demanding an inquiry into the project alleging irregularities in its execution.
Though after complaints of alleged irregularities in the project two separate inquiries have been conducted, the residents of Maur had raised the matter with local MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal again in early January this year during a sangat darshan programme as no action till that time was taken against any of the officials.
It was only after the Bathinda MP took a strong note of it that the public works department (PWD) suspended four officials in January. As a result of poor quality of work, patch work is going on at several places on the road as the contractor is liable for maintenance of the road till June 2015.
Meanwhile, Punjab irrigation minister and SAD MLA from Maur, Janmeja Singh Sekhon has said a case should be registered into the irregularities in the execution of this project. "I had called for a vigilance inquiry into the project as serious anomalies have occurred. How can a road paved hardly a year ago develop big potholes? Though some officials have been suspended in this connection further probe is required to bring the culprits to book," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Punjab irrigation minister and SAD MLA from Maur, Janmeja Singh Sekhon has said a case should be registered into the irregularities in the execution of this project. "I had called for a vigilance inquiry into the project as serious anomalies have occurred. How can a road paved hardly a year ago develop big potholes? Though some officials have been suspended in this connection further probe is required to bring the culprits to book," he said.
{{/usCountry}}SSP, vigilance bureau, Bathinda, Sukhdev Singh Chahal said a formal permission for starting the probe had been granted and DSP, vigilance bureau, Janak Singh has been handed over the probe. He said all the files regarding the project will be summoned. The bureau, besides taking help from the reports of earlier inquiries conducted into the project, might also take help from technical experts.
Two earlier inquiries into the multi-core project had found anomalies in its execution. An inquiry was conducted by Lt Gen BS Dhaliwal (retd), technical adviser to chief minister Parkash Singh Badal. The inquiry report submitted to the state government had found glaring anomalies in the execution of the entire project.
Another inquiry into the project was conducted by the quality control department of the PWD, which too had held officials responsible for failing to ensure quality of material used in the work.
Four officials who have been suspended in this connection are executive engineer Adesh Gupta, sub-divisional officer Paramjit Singh Deol, junior engineers Jasvir Singh and Ved Parkash.