₹16.6-crore scam of excess payment to private contractors surfaces in PSPCL; two suspended

PATIALA : Ten months after the audit department pointed out that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had paid ₹16.6 crore in excess to private contractors for supply of transformers ordered in December 2009, the power utility has suspended two officials, including an accounts officer, and is holding an inquiry against others.

The chief auditor of the PSPCL conducted an internal audit of 2016-17 and unearthed the scam of excess payment to different private firms under the Accelerated Power Development and Reforms (APDRP) programme, a centrally-sponsored scheme.

As per the audit, the price variation resulted as the department took the base date as July 2009, in violation of tender rules that stated that, “Quoted variable rates shall be based on the date one month prior to date of this tender opening” and tenders were opened on 29-9-2009, so the base date was to be taken as August 2009 not July 2009.”

If the rule would have been followed, the rates could have been different.

HIGH-POWERED PANEL FOUND NOTHING

The issue of the release of payments under price variation (in violation of tender guidelines) was in the knowledge of the top brass, from the rank of the chief engineer to the then CMD KD Chaudhri.

A high-powered committee was also formed and, strangely it was thereafter, that excess payments were released.

In the name of disciplinary action, only the small fry (lower rung officials) have been punished; those who gave nod as controlling officers have been let-off.

WORK ORDER ISSUED IN DECEMBER 2009

The work order for the transformers was issued on December 28, 2009. Till March 2017, a total payment of ₹22.25 crore had been made. Of this, the internal audit found that ₹16.65 crore was excess/paid illegally, documents that HT has accessed show.

When the audit report came out, the chief engineer, APDRP, was reluctant to act.

However, when the audit report was put up before CMD A Venu Prasad, heordered disciplinary action against erring officials. Then, the chief engineer, APDRP, was constrained to forward the note for disciplinary action in March 2018, on which ultimately CMD ordered immediate recovery and disciplinary action against delinquent officials. He also ordered the transfer of accounts officer Jagmohan Singh and another officer Devinder Pal Singh in March 2018.

This was only recently implemented with the PSPCL releasing the suspension orders. “No third party audit has been done, as per a Cabinet decision. If this was done, many more scams would have been unearthed in the APDRP and other wings of the PSPCL,” said a power engineer.