RTI plea led to unearthing of Faridabad civic body scam

Tribune News Service

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, July 12

An RTI application filed by an elected corporator of the Municipal Corporation (MC) in Faridabad had led to the unearthing of the biggest scam pertaining to any civic body in the state. It is claimed to be valued at Rs 200 crore as per the primary investigation report. The Vigilance Bureau inquiry, which is underway, is likely to provide the details of the network that has adversely affected the image and functioning of the civic body, said MC sources.

“The information provided in the RTI reply revealed similar bills and enhancement of costs and payments for various works carried out in various wards, which raised suspicion of a possible scam for the first time,’’ says Deepak Chaudhary, a former corporator from Ward number 37 here.

He said the RTI was filed in 2019 after some discrepancies pertaining to development works had surfaced. He said the reply to the RTI application led to the revelation that the value of bills and payments against the works allotted or done were almost same in various wards.

A complaint was lodged with the office of the Commissioner on July 7, 2020, demanding a probe into the matter, he said.

Chaudhary added that as the enhancement of bill amount or tender cost midway after the allotment of work was illegal, bills were also raised for some works that were missing on the ground. According to the complaint lodged in the FIR, as many as nine incidents of alleged enhancements

had been recorded in the

initial probe, which took

place between November

2017 and December 2018.

As per the FIR, the enhancement in costs of various works was found to be up to a whopping 360 per cent, sources. One such case was the revision of cost for laying interlocking tiles in Ward Number 14 from Rs 16.11 lakh to Rs 98.48 lakh and then to Rs 1.94 crore. Similarly, projects carried out in other wards witnessed enhancement from original tender cost of Rs 56.22 lakh to Rs 1.97 crore (November 8, 2017), Rs 16.11 lakh to Rs 1.94 crore (August 21, 2017), Rs 54.36 lakh to Rs 1.96 crore (October 28, 2018).

“There could be a large number of works in which irregularities in the payment of bills have been noticed,” says Chaudhary.

Claiming that the interrogation of senior officials — including the Commissioners posted in the period in which the alleged scam took place — could lead to vital information, former Deputy Mayor Manmohan Garg said the only relief was that the probe was being conducted by the Vigilance.

What raised suspicion

The information provided in the RTI reply revealed similar bills and enhancement of costs and payments for works carried out in various wards, which raised suspicion of a possible scam for the first time. — Deepak Chaudhary, former corporator, municipal corporation, Faridabad

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