Vigilance probe against mayor of North Delhi

■ Charges baseless: Agarwal

Lieutenant- governor Anil Baijal has directed a vigilance inquiry into the alleged corruption charges against North Delhi Municipal Corporation ( NDMC) mayor Preety Agarwal. The Rashtrapati Bhavan has also sought a status report on the charges against Ms Agwarwal. She is accused of accepting bribe and interfering in the confidential tender process for award of contracts.

Acting on the direction of the L- G office, the vigilance department of the NDMC has started an inquiry into the allegations.

“An inquiry has been conducted on allegations against Ms Agrawal and the report will be submitted to the L- G office,” said a senior NDMC official. Denying the allegations, Ms Agrawal said that charges were baseless.

The complainant alleged serious irregularities in award of contracts, interference in tendering process, various purchases as well as transfer and postings of officers in the NDMC. A report by Additional Commissioner ( Revenue) Renu K. Jagdev said that the mayor illegally entered the office of the deputy commissioner ( Headquarters) while the tendering process was on.

“On November 13, 2017, the mayor entered the office of deputy commissioner K. Mahesh while the evaluation of the tender for Civic Center security was being conducted. The mayor asked for tender documents while the deputy commissioner said it was not possible since it was a confidential matter,” according to the report.

As per the report, the mayor next day called a meeting of senior functionaries, including the commissioner and the Standing Committee chairman where the deputy commissioner was also present. Mahesh offered his apologies and clarified that he did not intend to insult the mayor, but he did so in order to maintain confidentiality.