The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has registered a preliminary enquiry into allegations of irregularities in recruitments in Delhi Transco Limited, sources said on Wednesday.
The alleged scam, worth ₹4 crore, pertains to the appointment of housekeeping and maintenance staff. The anti-graft body has now issued notices to Delhi Transco officials to join the investigation, officials privy to the developments said.
Files sought
The alleged scam comes in the wake of multiple cases of alleged graft that are currently under the scanner of the ACB ranging from irregularities in the hiring of water tenders by the Delhi Jal Board to investigation related to the construction of a drain in north-west Delhi.
“The ACB has issued notices to Delhi Transco officials concerned to appear for questioning in relation to the complaint alleging irregularities in recruitment and asked for access to files and other related paper work for assessment within a week,” said a senior official.
According to a source privy to case proceedings, a complaint was forwarded to the ACB by the Delhi government Vigilance Department alleging irregularities in recruiting housekeeping staff.
Tender floated
A tender related to the said recruitments was floated in 2016 after which a service provider, the complainant in the case, was chosen. Further modalities on awarding the tender were allegedly referred to the services department.
“The complainant claimed the company was kept in the dark for a year after it was referred to the department on the allegedly false pretext of seeking its opinion. Following this, it was summarily cancelled even though the company met all the requisite criteria,” said a senior government official. Meanwhile, according to the complaint in this regard, the officials accused in the case are alleged to have awarded the tender to provide the said services, which was earlier valued at ₹1.5 crore, to a bidder “of their choice” at ₹4 crore instead.
Clean chit
A source in the anti-graft unit claimed that the complaint further alleged that when the matter was brought to the notice of Delhi Transco, though a departmental enquiry was conducted, the officials allegedly associated with the scam were “deliberately” given a clean chit.
“We are probing the case from several angles and the role of multiple government officials associated with both the tendering procedure and developments related to the cancelling of the tender and its subsequent award to another firm will be investigated thoroughly,” the source added.
