Congress seeks judicial probe into Manesar’s Rs 50-cr sanitation scam

The transfer of Manesar Municipal Corporation (MCM) Commissioner Renu Sogan following a complaint has snowballed into a political storm, with the Congress now demanding a judicial inquiry into the sanitation contract at the centre of the controversy.

Review Commissioner’s report

He is politically backed by the ruling party. The Chief Minister was quick to act on his complaint and transferred two senior IAS officers. Has the government even bothered to review the Commissioner’s report? — Neeraj Yadav, Congress leader

Sogan was transferred following a complaint from Akanksha Enterprises — a sanitation contractor she had recently accused of massive inefficiency and financial misconduct. According to her internal report, the contractor had allegedly pocketed nearly Rs 50 crore in inflated payments while delivering only a fraction of the agreed services.

The Manesar unit of the Congress has now made the issue political, releasing photographs of the contractor with several BJP leaders, including former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The party alleges that the contractor is politically shielded and has been unduly favoured by the ruling government.

“He is politically backed by the ruling party. The Chief Minister was quick to act on his complaint and transferred two senior IAS officers. Has the government even bothered to review the Commissioner’s report?” said local Congress leader Neeraj Yadav. “The contractor was providing only one-fourth of the manpower but continued to receive full payments for almost two years. We demand a judicial probe to bring the truth to light.”

As per Sogan’s report, which is available with The Tribune, Akanksha Enterprises was awarded a Rs 105-crore contract in 2023 for street sweeping, drain cleaning, and related sanitation duties over a two-year period. The contractor was obligated to deploy around 1,997 sanitation workers but reportedly managed with only 500 — severely compromising the service quality.

Despite this, the company received monthly payments of Rs 4.5 crore. Before her transfer, Sogan had imposed penalties on the firm and had recommended its blacklisting. Meanwhile, the contractor said he had fulfilled all terms of the contract and was ready for any probe.

Congress leaders also pointed out that the contractor had been blacklisted previously for mismanagement at Bandhwari landfill but later floated a new company to secure fresh contracts.

“It’s always the same defaulters operating under different company names,” Yadav added. “Once blacklisted, they rebrand and bag new government tenders. This cycle must end. The government must ensure that such contractors are permanently blacklisted, and only reliable vendors are hired.”

The controversy has triggered anger among residents as well. Members of the United Association of New Gurugram have staged protests, demanding immediate cancellation of the contract and better civic accountability.

“Look around — Manesar is the dirtiest part of Gurugram. We pay taxes and suffer, while contractors walk away with crores,” said Praveen Malik, a spokesperson for the association. “This Rs 50-crore scam involving contractor payments must be thoroughly investigated.”

Haryana Tribune