J&K ACB registers case against PWD officers for undue benefit to contractor

ACB registers case against officers of PWD (R&B) for abuse of official position by giving undue benefit to contractor

JAMMU, 8 May 2024: J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Jammu registered a Case FIR number 05/2024 Police Station ACB-J under section 5 (1) (d) r/w 5 (2) of J&K PC Act Samvat 2006 and 120-B RPC against officers/officials of PWD (R&B) Division-III Jammu and the beneficiary.

The instant case FIR was registered on the outcome of a Verification was conducted by this Bureau on the basis of complaint alleging therein that the contractor Avikash Choudhary in league with concerned Engineers of PWD (R&B) Division-III Jammu and others manipulated to get the contract of upgradation of road from Lohri Chak to Chakrali via Sohagini in block Marh under NABARD by putting the lowest rates for the allotment of said contract but on ground all clauses of the tender were violated and work has not been executed thereby caused loss to Government exchequer etc.

The verification conducted revealed that while executing the work of execution of road from Lohri Chak to Chakrali via Sohagini in Block Marh, an item viz laying of 50 mm Premix Bituminous Macadam (BM) base course was not kept in DPR whereas 19250 sqm quantity of 50mm Premix Bituminous Macadam base course was advertised vide advertisement dated 29.05.2018 in the rate list @ 430/sqm just to facilitate the contractor Avikash Choudhary in getting allotment of contract. The officers/officials of PWD (R&B) Division-III Jammu prepared the advertised rate list by incorporating 50mm premix Bituminous Macadam base course which was not kept in DPR.

It surfaced during the course of verification that L1 Bidder namely contractor Avikash Choudhary quoted the rate of Rs. 4.30/sqm for Bitumious Macadam (BM) against advertised rate of Rs. 430/sqm and Rs. 0.50/kg for reinforcement of RCC work against Rs.60/kg. The rates quoted by the contractor were abnormally low and unworkable. The contractor did not execute these abnormally low rate items at site especially Bituminous Macadam (BM) whose allotted amount was Rs. 82,775/- against advertised amount of Rs. 82,77,500/-. It surfaced from the advertised rates that the rate quoted for 25mm OGPC (Open Graded Premix Carpet) was Rs. 270/sqm and for 50mm Bituminous Macadam was Rs. 430/sqm, but the rate quoted by contractor as well as in the allotment is Rs. 4.30/sqm for 50mm Bituminous Macadam (BM) and Rs. 275/sqm for 25 mm OGPC.

In this way, the concerned officers/officials of PWD Division-III Jammu namely Bikram Singh then Executive Engineer and Gurcharan Singh, then AEE in league with contractor helped in releasing the performance security/additional security deposit kept for unbalanced bid which was supposed to be released after successful completion of work.

6. It further surfaced during the course of verification that then Executive Engineer, Bikram Singh and then AEE Gurcharan Singh too recommended for post facto sanction for an additional cost of Rs. 86,88,925/- against the original allotment of Rs. 1,82,89,075/-. Subsequently then Chief Engineer issued the post facto allotment/approval for already executed excess work amounting Rs. 86,88,925/- by violating codal formalities, rather than inviting tender for the same. The discrepancies in light of rate, excess quantity and other violation of allotment/agreement even were not highlighted by then Head Draftsman Sundesh Kumar Kotwal & Sumer Singh as well as Draftsman Shiv Darshan Singh Jamwal & Atul Sharma. The concerned officers/officials of PWD (R&B) Division-III Jammu, by abuse of their official positions and in league with beneficiary contractor Avikash Choudhary, conferred undue pecuniary benefit upon him just for their ulterior motives.

Further investigation of the case is going on.

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