Chief Engineer chargesheeted for 'irregularities' in development works
The issuance of a chargesheet against a senior official of the civic administration over the alleged irregularities in development works has raised eyebrows at a time when the city is set to get an elected body and a Mayor after a gap of three years.
While the memorandum dated February 11, issued by the Commissioner and Secretary, Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department, says that the Chief Engineer of the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) should submit a written statement within the specified period to the undersigned, it does not contain details of the charges.
Sources reveal that the allegations pertained to poor or nil progress in works due to be carried out in the 24 villages that were incorporated into the civic limits in 2020.
The issue had surfaced at the meeting of the department on October 28, 2024, in which the Urban Local Bodies Minister reportedly pointed out lapses on the part of the said official and expressed his displeasure about the working of the Chief Engineer, resulting in the chargesheet under Rule 7 of the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeals) Rules- 2016.
However, the Chief Engineer, Birender Kumar Kardam, said it was wrong to chargesheet him, as during his tenure, development works worth Rs 70 crore had either been completed or tenders/estimates had been prepared or were under progress at various stages. He took over as the Chief Engineer of the MCF in June 2023, and works worth Rs 2,600 lakh had either been completed, were in progress or the tender process was on. Estimates for works worth Rs 4,409 lakh had been prepared and were at various stages of approval, he added.
He was not the Chief Engineer when the villages were incorporated in 2020, he claimed, adding that as a supervisory officer, his role did not include the direct execution or preparation of estimates, as other officials, including the Superintending Engineer, Executive Engineers and Junior Engineers, were involved in such an exercise.
Jaswant Yadav, a resident of Chandawali village, said a majority of villages incorporated into civic limits continued to face issues related to cleanliness, drinking water supply, drainage, garbage and sewage disposal.
Paras Bhardwaj of Save Faridabad, an NGO, said the latest move by the ULB exposed the loopholes in the functioning of the civic administration, which he said had been rocked by an alleged scam of Rs 200 crore in which action was yet to be taken.
