Bitumen scam may uncover Rs 50-cr bungling

In all, 22 divisions have been taken up for investigations and FIRs are likely in case of Kaza and Sataun divisions of Lahaul-Spiti and Sirmour districts, respectively.

Agro Industries Corporation, a PSU engaged in the handling of the bitumen purchased by the Public Works Department for construction and rebuilding of roads, is already under the scanner. Investigators don’t rule out possibilities of some arrests from the Agro-Industries Corporation as well.

Two transporter firms, including M/s M.K. Enterprises, which were given the tenders for transportation of the bitumen from Panipat refinery to different divisions of the PWD, are already facing the heat. Says Director General of Police (Vigilance) Dr D.S. Minhas, “Ultimately the irregularities which are being probed may result into a big scam, involving not only officials, contractors and transporters, but also elements at the refinery.”

The modus operandi adopted by the transporters and PWD officials was quite simple. There was no checking of the material delivered and no records maintained. “No proper record was kept and no dates mentioned in the stock registers. A single truck was shown having travelled 600 to 800 kilometres in a single day to transport the material from the refinery either the same day or next morning,” Minhas revealed.

Meanwhile, an embarrassed PWD has already passed orders to engage State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDC) as an agent for transportation of the bitumen. The Agro-Industries Corporation has also faltered on another account of not levying penalties on the transporters despite having delayed the consignments for days in some cases.

“We have engaged the SIDC to do the job because it has its own dumping centre at Parwanoo. The Agro-Industries Corporation was also supposed to have done that, but it failed. The dumping centre within the state could have helped the state in getting the VAT, which otherwise was a loss to the exchequer,” says Balram Sharma, secretary, PWD.