M A I N   N E W S

Canal scam: probe reveals misuse of funds
Tilak Raj Gupta

Gurdaspur, July 5
The inquiry report of the three-member committee headed by Mr Bhagat Singh Sandhu, Adviser, Irrigation, to the Chief Minister, Punjab, that was probing the UBDC scam has been submitted to the government. The committee has held officials engaged in the execution of remodelling of UBDC guilty of misuse of government funds to the tune of crores of rupees. A case under Sections 409, 418, 420, 466, 468, 471, 471-A and 120B, IPC and 13(i) (d), Prevention of Corruption Act, was registered yesterday at Pathankot Sadar police station against Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department, Sukhjinder Singh Sandhu, Superintendent Engineer Jarnail Singh, Canal Lining Division, Executive Engineer Gurmel Singh and Executive Engineer Anil Khosla who was then posted as PA to the Chief Engineer.

The SSP Gurdaspur, Mr RPS Brar, said yesterday that the case was registered on the basis of the inquiry report prepared by Mr Bhagat Singh Sandhu.

The project for remodelling of channels of UBDC system to meet the revised water allowances particularly post-Ranjit Sagar Dam stage was drawn up in 1998 and was further amended in April, 1999. This project was sanctioned by the Ministry of Water Resources in December 2000 under Centre’s accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme. The total cost of the project was estimated to be Rs 178.8 crore at 1998 cost index. As much as 67 per cent of the total cost of the project was to be borne by the Centre and the remaining 33 per cent by the state government.

According to the inquiry report a lot of misplanning and manipulations of records had been done at the level of the Chief Engineer, UBDC. The Executive Engineer (Works) was also involved in the scam according to the report.

Records of the office of the Chief Engineer revealed numerous financial irregularities, including allowing exorbitant rates, intentionally not calculating or wrongly calculating departmental rates, tempering with the records, manipulations in tender rates to favour a particular agency for vested interests.