Councillors' relatives, aides come in support of contractor

Patiala, October 11

Relatives and close associates of Municipal Councillors gathered at a chowk in the town and demanded cancellation of the FIR registered against contractor Aman Gupta.

Gupta had allegedly started civil work for the reconstruction of a road despite the Deputy Commissioner’s orders for maintaining the status quo. Some people also hurled abuses at the executive officer, Gurcharan Singh, who had reached the site. The protest continued for over four hours.

The gathering included Sanjay Magoo, son of Usha Magoo, senior vice president of Municipal Council Nabha. He said, “We raised contention against the registration of an FIR against the contractor. He was working as per tender orders while the administration ended up registering a case against him”, he said.

Pankaj Pappu, husband of Council President Sujata Chawla, said, “The work had been issued under the CM grant. The file was cleared by the Deputy Commissioner’s office, followed by a visit by a team. The contractor started the work on the basis of the work order. The FIR should rather be registered against the society that was allocated the tender and not him. We want the cancellation of the FIR and roadwork to be carried out.”

As a matter of fact, the tender for the roadwork amounting to Rs 96 lakh had been issued in 2021, merely 1.5 years after the previous work of laying the bitumen road had been completed. The same was in violation of the rules, which warrant passage for at least three years before reconstruction.

MLA Gurdev Singh Dev Mann, who also reached the site, said the work should be carried out in case the tender is correct. “Else, the administration should initiate action against those who cleared the project in the first place.