PWD Store scam! Chief Engineer has maintained a criminal silence; protecting tainted engineers

PWD Store scam! Chief Engineer has maintained a criminal silence; protecting tainted engineers

POONCH TODAY NEWS

RAJOURI: Open protection to tainted Engineers and related staff of PWD divisions of Rajouri and Nowshera by the office of Chief Engineer and Superintending Engineer Rajouri-Poonch circle shows that the top PWD chair has legalized corruption in the department. Those tainted Engineers who  murdered government exchequer in several crores were not taken to task, instead they have been given full protection by the office of Chief Engineer PWD Jammu and SE PWD Rajouri. Earlier, “POONCH TODAY” also brought the issue of excessive payments made from a big project in tehsil Mandi of Poonch district by few Engineers and in that matter also, no action was taken by the government. Another big road project under CRF in the same area was ignored by PWD authorities in which a contractor from a ruling party and few tainted engineers indulged in fake withdrawal of funds by carrying work out of the project report. Moreover, Executive Engineers, SEs are openly murdering the RTI act, reason they are fully aware of the fact that massive bungling was carried out in PWD department and the same has been going on. In Rajouri and Nowshera divisions, more than Rs 150 crores were booked in PWD stores from 2008 to 2017, but the shocking factor is that the department has no record available pertaining to it. Even Storekeepers looted money openly with the involvement of top PWD officers. Sensing trouble, Executive Engineers, SE PWD Rajouri-Poonch circle and Chief Engineer PWD Jammu have joined hands to protect tainted engineers and themselves from the fear of embarrassment of being exposed for not taking action on  multi crore store scam in Rajouri and Nowshera divisions. On one hand, PWD is being run by an efficient IAS officer from the top, but on the other hand, his subordinates from the office of Chief Engineer PWD Jammu to Executive Engineers at district level have adopted different paths of corruption. Record of many roads from which excessive payment were made in Poonch and Rajouri districts are lying with “POONCH TODAY” and it shows how, tainted engineers over the years murdered government exchequer. What has compelled the PWD officers to violate the RTI Openly? This needs to be investigated by the government seriously. Government claims that the transparency act RTI has been implemented fully on the ground, but the truth is that officers are openly ignoring the said act, thereby showing an open thumb to the claims of the government. A high level inquiry is needed into the multi crore store scam in Rajouri and Nowshera divisions in addition to constitute an enquiry commission to detect how excess payments in several crores were made out of the way from various big projects in Poonch and Rajouri district and those involved in such frauds, must be brought to justice as it’s a question of taxpayers money being sued in a wrong way.