Mann government acts in tender scam: 7 Amritsar Improvement Trust officials suspended, SSP Vigilance removed earlier

Amritsar (The Uttam Hindu): Taking a strict stand against corruption, the Punjab government has suspended seven officials of the Amritsar Improvement Trust. All the suspended officials belong to the engineering wing of the trust. Formal suspension orders have been issued by the Department of Local Bodies. The action is linked to an alleged tender scam worth around ₹52.80 crore.

Earlier, in connection with the same case, Vigilance Bureau SSP Lakhvir Singh had also been removed from his post. The suspension order only states that the action has been taken under the provisions of the Punjab Municipal Rules, 1970, without giving detailed reasons.

The suspended officials include Superintending Engineer Sant Bhushan Sachdeva, Executive Engineer Raminderpal Singh, Sub-Executive Engineer Bikram Singh, SDO Sukhripan Pal Singh, SDO Shubham Singh, and Junior Engineers Manpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh.

The case originated from a complaint filed by Seagal India Limited to the Chief Secretary. Following this, the Deputy Commissioner constituted a four-member committee to probe the matter. After the inquiry report was submitted to the Chief Secretary, the Department of Local Bodies initiated disciplinary action.

The alleged irregularities are related to tenders worth approximately ₹52.40 crore for development works in Ranjit Avenue Block-C and the 97 Acre Scheme. When the financial bids were opened on December 18, Sharma Contractor emerged as the H-1 bidder by quoting 1.08 percent below the estimated cost. Rajinder Infrastructure had quoted 0.25 percent lower but did not secure the tender. Meanwhile, Seagal India and Ganesh Kartikeya Construction Private Limited were disqualified before the financial bid stage due to incomplete documents and technical shortcomings.