Sidhu scraps Nangal college hiring, gives clean chit to all
CHANDIGARH: Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday declared that all new recruitments to Shivalik Pharmacy College, Nangal, have been scrapped.
Addressing a press conference here, Sidhu said since serious aspersions were cast on the selections — 90% successful candidates were from Rupnagar district alone — the move would restore the faith of people in the government. “The decision has been taken in view of public sentiment and good governance,” he said. HT was first to report on June 12 that the new recruitments are likely to be scrapped.
However, the cricketerturned-politician played it safe saying “no irregularities” had been found in the recruitment process in an internal vigilance probe conducted by the department into charges of nepotism.
Though Sidhu had declared that the probe will be completed within a fortnight when the controversy erupted days before the Punjab assembly’s budget session in March, the department kept dragging its feet as irregularities, if detected, could have embarrassed both the party and the government.
The recruitment of 48 (20 teaching and 28 non-teaching) staff members in March this year came under a cloud over allegations that 90% of those selected belonged to Rupnagar district and many were kith and kin of local Congress leaders, including loyalists of Punjab assembly speaker Rana KP Singh, who represents the assembly constituency. The other candidates declared successful included daughter-in-law of a former councillor, former improvement trust chairman’s daughter-inlaw and Nangal Congress block president’s brother. The kin of college principal, associate professor and another staff member too made it to the merit list. Finally, in a bid to balance idealism with realpolitik, the minister decided to set aside the process and opt for fresh exam without directly embarrassing Rana KP, his party and the department, which had a role in recruitments.
While the speaker as local MLA is part of the college management committee, the local government department director is its chairman. The college is financed by the Nangal MC. A decision on if the task to reconduct the exam will be given to GNDU has yet to be taken.
BJP SEEKS CBI PROBE
Meanwhile in Nangal, local BJP leaders hailed Sidhu’s decision to scrap recruitment of staff at the pharmacy college, but sought a CBI inquiry. Former Nangal MC president Rajesh Chaudhary, councillor Rajinder, former Nangal Improvement Trust chairman Ishwar Chander Sardana, former councillors Ranjit Singh Lucky and Bhupinder Bhinda said the CBI probe can unearth a big scam. Chaudhary said Sardana had also filed a writ petition in the high court in the matter.
LUDHIANA BUS STOP CONTRACT SCRAPPED
The local bodies department has also terminated the contract for bus shelters in Ludhiana owing to “gross financial irregularities”.
Warning MC officials indulging in negligence of duty, Sidhu said not only irregularities were committed in process of tendering and awarding of contract to M/s Greenline in March 2009, but the company also reaped undue gains by evading advertisement tax. “Bus queue shelters were excluded from scope of M/s Greenline in the 2009 contract but were re-awarded to M/s Greenline in 2015 on same terms and conditions for four years ignoring that advertisement tax had multiplied 8-10 times during the period. “Thus the company got major benefits owing to absence of competition. Also, an illegal cutting on tender increased the display area on bus queue shelters by three times thus increasing its market valuation,” he added.