Basti tenders cancelled after minister’s ‘armtwisting’

Three days after The Indian Express reported that Horticulture Minister Rajkishore Singh was being accused of cornering PWD contracts in Basti allegedly by force, the department Saturday cancelled tenders for contracts worth Rs 50 crore in the district.

The tenders have been cancelled on the orders of Gorakhpur Chief Engineer Mahendra Singh.

"We had received several complaints regarding the tendering process, mostly from local contractors. The whole tendering process has been cancelled," said Mahendra Singh.

While he confirmed summoning all the records, he added that there was "nothing against the minister".

The chief engineer has also summoned Executive Engineer R K Srivastava who allegedly has links with the Cabinet Minister.

Basti District Magistrate S Mathushalini, too, confirmed that the tenders have been cancelled and said a detailed report has been sought from the PWD office. "The PWD office has informed me that they had cancelled the tenders. I have asked them to submit a report about the whole incident," she said. "

"This I can assure you that when the tenders are released next time, they will be published for better visibility. Things will be done as per guidelines and under strict vigil," Mathushalini added.

The controversy started when Minister Rajkishore Singh, who hails from Basti.

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