The sleuth of Anti-Corruption Bureau on Wednesday booked officials of Public Works Department (Road & Buildings) Division and the beneficiary in Jammu.
The ACB spokesman said that instant case was registered on the outcome of a verification conducted by the ACB on the basis of complaint alleging therein that the contractor Avikash Choudhary in league with concerned Engineers of PWD (R&B) Division-III Jammu and others manipulated to get the contract of upgradation of road from Lohri Chak to Chakrali via Sohagini in block Marh under NABARD by putting the lowest rates for the allotment of contract but on ground all clauses of the tender were violated and work has not been executed thereby caused loss to Government exchequer etc.
The verification conducted revealed that while executing the work of execution of road the base course was not kept in DPR whereas 19250 sqm quantity of 50 mm Premix Bituminous Macadam base course was advertised in the rate list @ 430/sqm to facilitate the contractor in getting allotment of contract.
The officials of PWD (R&B) Division-III Jammu prepared the advertised rate list by incorporating 50 mm premix Bituminous Macadam base course which was not kept in DPR.
It further said that it surfaced during the course of verification that L1 Bidder namely contractor Avikash Choudhary quoted the rate of Rs. 4.30/sqm for Bitumious Macadam (BM) against advertised rate of Rs. 430/sqm and Rs. 0.50/kg for reinforcement of RCC work against Rs.60/kg.
He said that the rates quoted by the contractor were abnormally low and unworkable and the contractor did not execute these abnormally low rate items at site especially Bituminous Macadam (BM) whose allotted amount was Rs. 82,775/- against advertised amount of Rs. 82,77,500/-.
It surfaced from the advertised rates that the rate quoted for 25mm OGPC (Open Graded Premix Carpet) was Rs. 270/sqm and for 50mm Bituminous Macadam was Rs. 430/sqm, but the rate quoted by contractor as well as in the allotment is Rs. 4.30/sqm for 50mm Bituminous Macadam (BM) and Rs. 275/sqm for 25 mm OGPC, he added.
In this way, the ACB spokesman said that concerned officers/officials of PWD Division-III Jammu namely Bikram Singh then Executive Engineer and Gurcharan Singh, then AEE in league with contractor helped in releasing the performance security and additional security deposit kept for unbalanced bid which was supposed to be released after successful completion of work.
He added that it further surfaced during the course of verification that then Executive Engineer, Bikram Singh and then AEE Gurcharan Singh too recommended for post facto sanction for an additional cost of Rs. 86,88,925/- against the original allotment of Rs. 1,82,89,075/-.
Subsequently he stated that the then Chief Engineer issued the post facto allotment and approval for already executed excess work amounting Rs. 86,88,925/- by violating codal formalities, rather than inviting tender for the same.
The discrepancies in light of rate, excess quantity and other violation of allotment/agreement even were not highlighted by then Head Draftsman Sundesh Kumar Kotwal and Sumer Singh as well as Draftsman Shiv Darshan Singh Jamwal and Atul Sharma.
The concerned officers/officials of PWD (R&B) Division-III Jammu, by abuse of their official positions and in league with beneficiary contractor Avikash Choudhary, conferred undue pecuniary benefit upon him just for their ulterior motives, said the spokesman adding that further investigation of the case is in progress.
