Discolored PWD officials are calling shots in Rajouri district; From X.ENs to C.E, everything is fixed
POONCH TODAY NEWS
RAJOURI: PWD department of Rajouri district, especially divisions Rajouri and Nowshera have scripted many multi-crore scams with the involvement of discolored Executive Engineers, AEEs, JEs, Storekeeper and other officials who enjoyed prized tables in the divisions. Blacktopping of roads scam, Store scam, fake withdrawal of funds under SDRF, withdrawal of funds under special repair, annual repair, and other non-plan modes, department officials murdered government exchequer in several crores. A blue-eyed JE who enjoyed a long stay in the Rajouri division was involved in withdrawing a fake bill of Rs 20 lacs from a major project. Similarly, three JEs, one of them was transferred, in the last financial year withdrew Rs 13 lac, Rs 15 lac, and Rs 20 lacs respectively by fraud means on the name of some big projects without executing the work on the ground. At many places, repeated payments were made from a single road project in a rural area and such examples are in hundreds. There are similar reports of likewise PWD scams in Reasi, Kathua, Udhampur, and Srinagar districts. During the financial year 2018-19 and 2020-21, few PWD engineers in Srinagar district murdered government exchequer in several crores by their hand in glove relation in fake withdrawal. However, in the Nowshera division, before March 2020, Rs 1014.90 lacs were spent under special and annual repair and the department claimed that the work done was of urgent nature, but never showed any proof of execution of work on the ground. More than one thousand individual bunkers and 116 Community bunkers were allotted to the Nowshera division, but tainted engineers with the support of selected Contractors compromised heavily and earned money through heavy commission. Many bills under different schemes were passed out of the way. Executive Engineers in divisions Rajouri and Nowshera used to select their favourite Contractors and allot them work by playing foul in tendering process. Even, few contractors were deputed for ensuring compromise between other contractors, and by this way, a high-level nexus remained active in PWD Rajouri and Nowshera, by hoodwinking top officers of PWD in government. Even in the Nowshera division, out-of-the-way benefits were given to few contractors having a political background and the same process still has been going on. Seven no’s of JEs, who served in Rajouri divisions and two JEs in Nowshera divisions were instrumental in fake withdrawing of money under different schemes, and storekeeper also remained a heavy player in big deals. A JE of subdivision Nowshera remained so powerful that nothing moved without his consent in the majority of projects in the area. In reality, the majority of people and leaders are not aware of various PWD schemes and technicalities and tainted engineers used to take ultimate benefits of this lack of knowledge among people and leadership. An insider in PWD Rajouri division, told “POONCH TODAY”, pleading anonymity, “The Rajouri division has many scams in various crores and I believe, if government conducts a detailed and fair inquiry, many tainted engineers including X.ENs, AEEs and JEs will find themselves trapped by ACB. What lies on paper is absent on the ground in many cases” added “PWD Nowshera, which is a small division also has many scams scripted by successive Executive Engineers, AEEs, AEs, JEs, and few other officials including Storekeeper. From X.ENs to Chief Engineer’s office, the share goes to all, that’s why nobody dares to initiate any criminal proceedings against tainted PWD officials.” The recent GMC Rajouri episode of foundation wall collapsing and bad condition of various PWD roads in Rajouri and Nowshera divisions show that a huge compromise was made during the execution of works and it points towards a deep nexus that is working in the department.
