by Raman Kirpal
Mar 28, 2013
Now the tube well scam! This scam may not ruffle the political
hierarchy, but it has shaken foundations of the Delhi Jal Board. The CBI
has booked as many as 30 engineers, including executive and senior
level engineers, of the Delhi Jal Board along with nearly 50 contractors
and private persons for using cheap brand equipment in setting up tube
wells.
Over 200 tube wells may dry in the ‘water-riot’ city of Delhi,
because the steel tube or pipe bored into an underground aquifer is
inferior and locally made. The tubes used were supposed to be Johnson
stainless steel screen mash tube. Instead, the contractors used local
tubes on the sly. These tubes may get rusted any day and thus may cause
artificial water scarcity during summer in the capital.
The amount involved in this scam runs into less than Rs 10 crore, but
the fear of water scarcity and the involvement of huge number of
engineers and contractors into the conspiracy have raised alarms. The
CBI has registered 18 cases against these engineers and contractors so
far and has already filed five charge sheets in the case.
The Delhi Jal Board has dug tube wells all over the city to use
ground water for emergency purposes. In fact, some areas in South and
West Delhi are heavily dependent on the ground water. Two-hundred tube
wells mired in this scam are located in Karol Bagh, Rohini, Naraina,
Rajouri Garden, Tilak Nagar, Najafgarh (all in West Delhi) and RK Puram,
Kalkaji, Fatehpur Beri and Tughlaqabad Extension (all in South Delhi).
All these areas are prone to water scarcity during the summer.
An executive engineer PK Jain, three assistant engineers NK Khare, BD
Arya and Shiv Hari and nearly 30 junior engineers have been booked in
the tube well corruption cases. Contractors charged under corruption
clauses are M/s Home Decorator Builders and Engineer, M/s India Tube
well, M/s Sarawgi and Sons, M/s R B Sales, M/s Water Well Drillers, M/s
Bharti Enterprises, M/s Nitin Enterprises, M/s Kadri Tubewells
Construction Pvt Ltd, M/s CST & Co., M/s Sri Raghuvendra Borewell,
M/s Ravi Goyal and M/s MS Borewell.
According to the Delhi Jal Board specifications, the high quality
tube wells were supposed to be fitted with stainless steel Johnson pipe,
which have firm structure, temperature and corrosion resistance, good
mechanical properties, long service life, safe and reliable
characteristics. Even the Contractors’ bills submitted to the Delhi Jal
Board certified that they have used the Johnson pipes.
Charges leveled against the engineers, contractors and private
persons include gratification taken by public servants, criminal
misconduct and abetment to corruption. In five FIRs, the special CBI
judge has taken cognizance of the offences, after the CBI filed the
charge sheets.
with thanks : FIRSTPOST : LINK