ACB registers case against PWD officers, contractor for alleged corruption

Srinagar, May 08: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jammu, has started legal proceedings against officers of the Public Works Department (R&B) Division-III Jammu and a contractor for allegedly exploiting their official positions to provide unjust advantages to the said contractor.
The ACB in a statement issued here said that a case FIR No. 05/2024 P/S ACB-J has been registered under section 5 (1) (d) r/w 5 (2) of J&K PC Act Samvat 2006 and 120-B RPC against the implicated officers/officials and the beneficiary.
The case stems from a thorough verification conducted by the Bureau following a complaint alleging collusion between the contractor, Avikash Choudhary, and concerned Engineers of PWD (R&B) Division-III Jammu, the bureau said, adding that the complaint suggested that the contractor secured the contract for the upgradation of a road by submitting the lowest bid, but failed to fulfill the tender requirements, resulting in financial losses to the government.
During the verification, it was discovered that certain discrepancies existed, such as the inclusion of an item (laying of 50 mm Premix Bituminous Macadam base course) in the advertised rate list despite its omission from the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the statement said.
The ACB said that the contractor, Avikash Choudhary, purportedly quoted abnormally low rates, which were impractical and unsustainable, for various items, including Bituminous Macadam (BM) and reinforcement of RCC work.
“It was revealed that the concerned officers/officials of PWD Division-III Jammu, namely Bikram Singh (then Executive Engineer) and Gurcharan Singh (then AEE), allegedly facilitated the release of performance security/additional security deposit for unbalanced bids without proper justification,” the bureau said, adding that a post facto sanction for an additional cost of Rs 86,88,925 was recommended and approved, disregarding procedural norms, by then Chief Engineer, in collaboration with the implicated officers.
The investigation also uncovered the failure of certain personnel within the department to highlight discrepancies in rates and excess quantities, thereby enabling the undue pecuniary benefit conferred upon the contractor, Avikash Choudhary, for their own vested interests, the ACB said, adding that the ongoing investigation aims to delve deeper into the matter and hold all involved parties accountable for their actions.