MLA Setia unearths street construction ‘scam’ in Sirsa
In a move to expose corruption, Congress MLA Gokul Setia allegedly unearthed a street construction scam in Ward 24 of Sirsa on Friday. The MLA visited the Municipal Council office in the afternoon and requested the file for a street allegedly constructed behind the vegetable market in Tarsem Regar Gali.
Ground reality
- As per MC documents, the street was shown to be built using interlocking tiles at a cost of Rs 1.44 lakh in 2021.
- The file included approvals and signatures from the then vice-chairman, XEN, municipal engineer, junior engineer and EO.
- When MLA Setia visited the site with a junior engineer and technical staff, the ground reality was different.
- Residents of the area revealed that no road work had been undertaken by the authorities for over 15 years.
According to official documents, the street was shown to be built using interlocking tiles at a cost of Rs 1.44 lakh in 2021. The file included approvals and signatures from the then vice-chairman, XEN, municipal engineer, junior engineer and EO. However, when MLA Setia visited the site with a junior engineer (JE) and technical staff, the reality was starkly different. Residents of the area revealed that the street had not been constructed for over 15 years. Confronted with this, the JE explained that it was an issue from the tenure of a previous JE. MLA Setia directed the JE to prepare a detailed report on the matter and stated his intent to recommend suspension and investigation of the officials involved.
MLA Setia expressed his dismay and said, “In Sirsa, development funds have been misused. Streets exist only on paper and fake bills have been passed to siphon off lakhs of rupees. Such cases will be thoroughly investigated and those responsible will face strict action.”
A day earlier, he conducted a raid at the Municipal Council office and inspected a street in Khetarwal Colony. He collected samples to verify the quality of construction.
