Engineering wing officials of Sonepat MC go underground
Mukesh Tandon
Sonepat, May 16
After the arrest of former Commissioner of the Sonepat Municipal Corporation Dharmender Singh in a corruption case, some officials of the Engineering wing of the MC have gone underground.
The officials were reportedly involved in making the revised estimate proposal, which was enhanced by nearly 70 per cent in connivance with the contractor of the company, which was given the contract of the five-storeyed Sonepat Municipal Corporation building. Dharmender Singh took the charge of the MC Commissioner on August 4, 2021, and was relieved on August 29, 2022.
As per information, the MC had allotted the tender for the construction of the MC building to a Delhi-based construction company, which started the work in 2018. The MC had allotted Rs 52 crore for the construction of the office building and payment was made to the company. Despite this, the structure was lying incomplete and the work had been halted for more than a year.
During the tenure of Dharmender Singh, the Engineering wing, including JE, SDO, XEN and SE, had prepared the revised estimate proposal of the building, which was enhanced by almost 70 per cent, from Rs 52 crore to Rs 87 crore.
Dharmender Singh, as MC Commissioner, had given approval to the revised enhanced proposal and sent it to the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) headquarters in December 2021 for approval.
As per the norms, any tender can only be enhanced up to 10 per cent. But this tender was enhanced by 70 per cent, which was objected by senior officials, said an official.
The SIT also raided the Sonepat MC in June-July last year and took away all records related to this tender, the sources added.
MC Commissioner gave approval
- During the tenure of Dharmender Singh, the Engineering wing had prepared the revised estimate proposal of the building, which was enhanced by almost 70%, from Rs 52 crore to Rs 87 crore
- Dharmender, as MC Commissioner, had given nod to the revised enhanced proposal and sent it to the Urban Local Bodies headquarters in December 2021 for approval
