Haryana suspends 3 Irrigation Department officials for starting project sans nod

The Haryana Government has placed three Irrigation Department officials under suspension for allegedly initiating an estimated Rs 8-crore pipeline project before obtaining mandatory approval from the competent authority.

The suspended officials are Superintending Engineer Vimal Kumar, Executive Engineer (XEN), Adampur Division, Vinod Kumar, and Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Akshay, all posted in Hisar district.

Sources said the project involved laying a pipeline to drain rainwater from agricultural fields near Adampur into the Kishangarh branch. They said the proposed rates for execution of the work had been approved by a committee of Chief Engineers and forwarded to the Commissioner for final approval.

However, departmental sources said the officials allegedly directed the contractor to begin the work before the Commissioner’s approval was received, although such approval is mandatory before execution of the project.

When senior authorities came to know of the matter, the Commissioner declined to approve the proposed rates, ordered re-tendering of the project and sought an explanation from the officials.

Sources said the Irrigation Department officials maintained that the work was part of flood-relief measures and had to be completed before June 30 in the larger public interest. They argued that execution was started without waiting for formal approval because of the urgency. However, their explanation was not accepted, following which disciplinary action was initiated.

An anonymous complaint also brought the matter to the notice of higher authorities. A preliminary inquiry found that the project had been executed in violation of tendering norms.

The officials, however, maintained that the pipeline work was undertaken to ensure timely drainage of rainwater before the onset of the monsoon and that they were under pressure to complete it.

Additional Chief Secretary (Irrigation) Anurag Agarwal issued the suspension orders.