A large number of bills, pertaining to the operation and maintenance of diesel generators at water boosting stations, have been lost and could not be furnished by executive engineers of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) during an ongoing probe, officials said Friday.

Last month, the accounts department of the MCG had pointed out that the cumulative bills of renting and maintaining diesel generators for around 60 water boosting stations appeared to be significantly inflated, amounting in excess of ₹2 crore.

This had raised suspicions of corruption and malpractice and an inquiry had been initiated.

In some cases, the MCG had received bills amounting to ₹15 lakh-₹20 lakh for operating and maintaining diesel generators for one year.

Subsequently, the MCG had directed all executive engineers to submit details of all bills related to renting and maintaining of diesel generators for a period of 12 months, starting from March, 2018.

ND Vashisht, chief engineer of MCG, who is part of the three-member probe committee, said they are yet to receive most of the bills as constant transfers of executive engineers last year has resulted in many bills being misplaced or not accounted for.

“We can only ascertain malpractice once we have all the bills in place. Since most executive engineers were shuffled around constantly, and in some cases only spent two months in one zone, bills for diesel generators could not be exhibited by many and some could not be traced,” Vashisht said.

Besides Vashisht, the committee also includes additional municipal commissioner YS Gupta and an official from the accounts department.

Vashisht said there are more than 60 water boosting stations in the city.

However, the MCG does not have any records showing the number of diesel generators that are on rent or the stations that these generators have been placed at.

“Until all bills are in possession, we cannot compile a report. We are in possession of some of the bills which indicate that such a high amount could only be accounted for if there was a power outage 24x7 and diesel generators were providing electricity. This has raised suspicions. I have asked the chief accounts officer to go through his records and give me all bills pertaining to diesel generators for 2018 so that the matter can be thoroughly investigated,” Vashisht said.

MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav had said these diesel generators were hired by the Corporation prior to the summer of 2018 season to ensure that there is 24x7 electricity and uninterrupted water supply in the city, especially during summer months.

First Published: May 19, 2019 03:53 IST