Haryana CM’s flying squad, VB raid seven civic bodies in Sonepat, Panipat

Mukesh Tandon

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Panipat, September 19

A joint team of the Chief Minister’s (CM’s) flying squad and the State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) on Monday conducted raids at the offices of municipal corporation of Panipat and Sonepat, the municipal committees (MCs) of Samalkha, Kundli Kharkhoda and Sampla and the municipal council in Bahadurgarh for alleged malpractices in allotment of sanitation and cleanliness tenders.

The teams were collecting documents till the filing of the report. The joint teams conducted raids simultaneously at all offices of the local bodies and started inquiry through the sanitation wings. The teams have collected records of cleanliness tenders, their work orders, the terms and condition of these tenders, manpower and infrastructure used by these contractor companies and other details.

Documents collected

The raids were conducted at seven places after a tip-off on malpractices in the allotment of sanitation tenders by hiking rates. The teams are on the job to collect all documents. —Ajeet Singh, DSP, CM’s Flying Squad

Sources said a complaint against malpractices in allotment of the cleanliness tenders had come to the notice of CM Manohar Lal Khattar recently, following which the raids were conducted today. The sources said, in the complaint, questions had been raised over the tenders allotted by the MCs in Panipat, Sonepat, Manesar, Bahadurgarh and in Ambala, etc. Earlier, the cleanliness tender in Panipat from 2018 to May 30, 2022 was of Rs 53.77 lakh per month and Rs 75 lakh per month in Sonepat from 2019 to August 31, 2022. But now, the tenders have been allotted in Panipat after dividing it into four zones and in Sonepat after dividing it into two zones. In Panipat, the tender has been allotted of Rs 3.55 crore per month and in Sonepat of Rs 3.36 crore per month for cleanliness. The contract has been allotted to two prominent companies for seven years, the sources added.

In the complaint it has also been alleged that after allotting these tenders on high rates, the Sonepat and Panipat MC had to bear an extra burden of Rs 5.57 crore per month, which would be Rs 66.90 crore per annum, the sources added.

The complainant also raised the questions that both companies applied for tenders in support of each other and no other company was entertained. In Bahadurgarh, documents related to tenders of cleanliness were collected .