Jalandhar: Rs 7.5 cr paid extra to company involved in installing LEDs, says probe panel

Tribune News Service

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, July 5

Members of the committee inquiring the alleged LED project scam today said several anomalies had been found in the reply given by officials of the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar, during the course of questioning in the meetings with them.

Anomalies in reply

Yesterday, officials claimed that they had removed approximately 56,000 sodium lights in order to install LEDs. Today, they said 45,000 lights were removed. How can there be a difference of more than 10,000 lights in their answers? A committe member

What is mayor doing?

The committee has been asked to find out the truth. We will prepare our report and submit it to the CEO of the smart city. I want to ask what is the role of the Mayor in it? He is a member of the Smart City, he cannot run away from his responsibilities — Shamsher Khehra, DCP

Sources privy to the meetings of the committee claimed that the company involved in the LED project was given an ‘extra’ amount of Rs 7.5 crore. “This is a serious matter that needs to be looked into,” a committee member said.

The sources further said MC officials had not been working according to the agreement. “Yesterday, the officials claimed that they had removed approximately 56,000 sodium lights in order to install LEDs. Today, they said 45,000 lights were removed. How can there be a difference of more than 10,000 lights in their answers? Also, we asked them about the whereabouts of the sodium lights that were removed. According to them, it is with the corporation, but in reality the lights were never given to the MC,” the source claimed.

Sources added as per the agreement, the number of lights installed must be equal to that of lights removed, but above 70,000 LEDs had been installed.

Committee members said there was much more than met the eye. “Not even a single work has been done according to what was mentioned in the agreement,” one of the members added. Davinder Rony, a member of the committee, again took a jibe at the officials and asked them directly about the ‘fraud’.

It is reported that the committee members will meet again on Wednesday and prepare their final report. It has been month since this issue became talk of the town, but, still no action has been taken against anyone.

Shamsher Khehra, a committee member, said for the past two years the issue was being raised and Mayor Jagdish Raja remained silent on it. “Now, we have been entrusted with the task to find out the truth. We will prepare our report and submit it to the Chief Executive Officer of the smart city. I want to ask what is the role of the Mayor in it? What will he do? What has he done until now? He is a member of the Smart City, he cannot run away from his responsibilities,” he said.

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