Accepting these objections, the PAC, which submitted its own findings over the controversy to the state legislature on Monday, said, “Despite the CAG’s objection, the department has not acted against officials for five years.” (Representative Image)The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the state legislature passed strictures against the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) over “gross irregularities” in road construction projects.
It rapped the department for inaction against contractors who allegedly used fake invoices to obtain multicrore contracts. In March 2013, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had first raised the issue. In its report, the CAG had pointed to certain contractors who had obtained fake bitumen invoices to gain contracts.
Accepting these objections, the PAC, which submitted its own findings over the controversy to the state legislature on Monday, said, “Despite the CAG’s objection, the department has not acted against officials for five years.”
The PAC also observed that “The irregularities were blatant and wouldn’t have been possible without the direct involvement of officials.”The CAG had earlier found that 101 invoices for 1,603.92 metric tonnes of bitumen, valued at Rs 6.38 crore, procured from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) were fake in cross verification, stating that contractors had bagged projects worth over Rs 33 crore with the help of bogus invoices.
The PAC has also rapped the department for the poor quality of roads and further questioned the process of blacklisting a contractor, stating that, “While the company is blacklisted, the directors and partners have the option to register a new company in another name and continue their businesses.”
