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| CE facing 3 inquiries; gets additional charge of APDRP | | State Awardee ex-PDD secretary kept eyes closed! | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Feb 5: Within days of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah demitting office, skeletons have begun tumbling out from the cupboard of power ministry headed by him.
Though the ministry had a junior minister from Congress but highly placed sources said that it was Omar's whose decisions mattered and not Congress Minister of State (MOS) Viqar Rasool. Sources said that Omar despite being briefed about Chief Engineer (System and Operations) Kashmir Sheikh Gul Ayaz preferred to remain mum, thus allowing this PDD man to ruin projects taken up under the transmission and distribution component of Prime Minister's Reconstruction Package (PMRP).
Despite Chief Minister Omar Abdullah being incharge minister, sources said that such was administrative inefficiency and obedience of the political clout of certain blue-eyed engineers that Gul was allowed to continue in the system and operation wings where he had already completed more than 20 years. They added that Sheikh Ayaz Gul was not even touched and never even asked to explain his decisions vis-à-vis the implementation of the centrally sponsored T&D projects being constructed under PMRP.
Gul has high profile political connections, said the sources while adding that Chief Minister ordered 3 inquiries into his functioning but preferred not to shift him from the System and Operations wing of the PDD Kashmir for the reasons best known to him. If the sources are to be believed, serious charges have been levelled against Gul and probe is going on while he continues to head the System and Operations (S&O) wing of PDD Kashmir.
Sources further said that probe pertains to alleged irregularities, delay in making payments, arbitrary imposition of penalties, pick and choose in postings of junior officers and other related things done by the concerned official which resulted in the purported failure of the centrally sponsored projects being implemented in the state for strengthening transmission and distribution system across Kashmir valley under Prime Minister's Reconstruction Programme (PMRP).
Ex-Principal Secretary of the Power Development Department Arun Mehta who has recently given state award for meritorious services and has now gone on central deputation preferred not to even touch Sheikh Ayaz Gul for obvious reasons. Sources said that Mehta too respected Gul's political connections and did not want to disappoint the political bosses of Gul. He did order an inquiry against Gul but neither recommended nor even proposed transfer of Gul from the system and operations wing to some other important wing of the PDD.
Mehta went a step ahead and before going back on central deputation gave Gul additional charge of R-APDRP Part-B despite the allegations of irregularities committed by him which have resulted in the failure of much hyped PMRP T&D Power Project, said an official of PDD seeking anonymity. Due to this all the companies has Abandoned the Project Execution and no one is quoting fresh tenders of JKPDD in J&K, added the sources in PDD.
They further said that blacklisted companies have been approved for supply of material in R-APDRP Part-B. These include APE Power Calcutta, Teracom India Limited and Rajasthan based Transformer Company. Sources disclosed that officer has approved Teracom India Limited for shifting 220/132 KV transmission line of NHAI/RAMKY despite knowing well that it is blacklisted company.
A PDD official told Early Times that Gul has himself recommended this company to NHAI/RAMKY & also has approved cost escalation of the transmission line project at very higher cost than the prevailing rates. Various companies and the Contractor associated with the stream have also complained to REC (Rural Electrification Corporation India), CEA (Central Electricity Authority) as well as PFC in several meetings about the deliberate delays in approvals, Payments of PMRP/R-APDRP and the irregularities Committed by the concerned, said the sources.
They further said that chairman of an international firm has also written to the concerned authorities about irregularities, deliberate delay in approvals and pending payments. Contractors have threatened that if he is allowed to continue as incharge of R-APDRP Part-B which is also a prestigious project to contain transmission loss, it would be difficult for them to continue working with the project. Early Times made repeated attempts to contact Principal Secretary Power Sandeep Nayak but he could not be contacted. |
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