Kanpur. The Municipal Corporation here has become synonymous with corruption. The reason for which is the greed of politicians and officials to earn money through contractors. This game was going on through tenders worth crores of rupees, but it was ruined when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came to know about this game and tightened the screws on the officials. Overall, after the strictness of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the layers of the contractual system of the Municipal Corporation have started opening up.
As far as the action taken so far is concerned, tenders worth more than Rs 100 crore have been canceled in the initial investigation. Seven firms have been blacklisted and six cases have been registered. Two contractors have been arrested, while the alleged leader of the entire syndicate, Govind Sharma, is absconding. The investigation has also revealed surprising facts regarding the method of obtaining the tender.
According to the police, a syndicate of contractors was active. It is alleged that through this syndicate it was decided who would tender for which work and which firm would get the work. In many cases, it has come to light that there is a game of floating tenders at about 15 per cent lower rate and then getting the work done to the designated firm.
According to the police, pressure was put on some contractors and efforts were made to keep others away from the tender process. The investigation has also revealed that the tender was being managed in the name of lucky draw. However, the entire truth of these allegations will become clear only after the investigation by the SIT. After the matter came to light, the Municipal Corporation has canceled tenders worth about Rs 100 crore. Payments related to development works have also been banned. The process of registration of new firms has also been put on hold.
During this time, the police have registered cases against firms including Dilip Bajpai, Ajay Enterprises, Parasnath Builders, Kaila Enterprises, Tirupati Traders and Jagadamba Enterprises. Two cases have been registered against Jagdamba Enterprises. SIT is no longer limited to just contractors. The role of Municipal Corporation officers and employees is also being investigated. The team has asked for files related to tender, payment, firm registration and development works. By interrogating the officials in the Municipal Corporation, efforts are being made to find out that if there were irregularities in the tender process, then why the responsible officials were not informed about it. In response to this question, officials are also believed to be in collusion.