Senior IAS officer of Punjab cadre, 1992 batch Sarvjit Singh is in trouble. The state vigilance bureau (VB) has recommended registration of an FIR against him and others under the Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged financial loss suffered by the state government in the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority's Purab apartments project.
Singh, who is a batch senior to chief secretary Anurag Verma, is currently holding post of special chief secretary, sports and youth services.
The case dates back to 2011 when Singh was chief administrator of GMADA.
The authority had prepared a proposal for Purab apartments to be constructed in Sector 88, Mohali. Later, GMADA changed the proposal, and eventually, the project failed.
When VB conducted enquiry, it found that the design and construction material of Purab apartment was sub standard.
“The reason behind failure of the project is that GMADA didn't hire right architect. Sarvjit Singh being the chief asminsitrator was responsible for that,” the report found.
Market survey not done, authority paid Rs 30 crore penalty for late possession
Sarvjit Singh didn't conduct the mandatory market survey before launching Rs 3,000-crore project in which 6,360 flats were constructed. Also, no proper architect firm was engaged to design and monitor the construction work.
“A private architect was hired but he had just prepared rough design for which he was paid Rs 5.29 lakh. This payment was also against the rules, as any payment higher than Rs 5 lakh should be made through tendering process.
Apart from that, GMADA paid nearly Rs 30 crore to the allottees for late possession of the apartments, resulting in direct financial loss. Besides, nearly 500 flats were not sold due to the project's failure, adding to the financial loss.
In the inquiry, it was mentioned that the VB sent a questionnaire to Sarvjit Singh, but he failed to provide satisfactory replies and instead highlighted his accomplishments in his defence.
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