80 Irrigation Dept officers chargesheeted: Minister

As part of its zero tolerance to corruption policy, the Haryana Government has chargesheeted 80 officials -- from Junior Engineers (JE) to Chief Engineers -- under Sections 7 and 8 of the Haryana Civil Services Rules, Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Shruti Choudhry said here today.

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She said 48 samples of construction materials used in various ongoing projects of the Irrigation Department were collected. Out of those, 18 failed quality tests. Some of these projects are nearing completion, a stage where the accountability of officials increases significantly. After repeated complaints, the vigilance wing of the department conducted raids and took samples, shared the minister.

Responding to a question, she said that a significant amount of payment had already been made to the contractors. She further clarified that possibilities of recovering the funds from the contractors would be explored.

Responding to a question regarding the Kishau Dam Project, Choudhry said that it was a national-level project and held great importance for Haryana. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini reviewed this project just two days ago. Through this dam, Haryana will receive water for irrigation and drinking purposes. The state will get 709 cusecs of water from the Yamuna river through the Kishau Dam, she stated.

Responding to another question on the completion of 11 years of the central government, she said landmark decisions such as the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the abolition of triple talaq and Operation Sindoor reflect the Prime Minister’s decisive leadership.