IAS-contractor tussle at Manesar MC snowballs into major political issue
The youngest and otherwise nondescript Municipal Corporation, Manesar (MCM), is the talk of the state now. With the recent IAS-contractor tussle, the civic body has hit the headlines this month. The fallout has now snowballed into a major political issue.
What made Manesar Municipal Corporation hit the headlines?
The Municipal Corporation hit headlines when a local sanitation contractor Shishpal Rana of Akanksha Enterprises accused former Commissioner Renu Sogan of corruption and approached CM Nayab Saini. Within a day of the complaint, Sogan and her husband IAS Hitesh Meena, who was then posted as the ADC, Gurugram, were transferred out. This led to a huge uproar among the residents and Opposition, who called out the state government for favouring the contractor, who was close to many BJP leaders.
What triggered the complaint?
It all started when IAS Renu Sogan imposed a penalty of over Rs 4 crore on the sanitation contractor. Sogan insisted that as per his contract, he was supposed to provide 1,997 sanitation workers to Manesar, however, he had just deputed an average of 500 workers only. Sogan highlighted that despite the workforce being on records, the corporation had been making full payment to the contractor leading to several crores of losses to the civic body. She also claimed that he was previously blacklisted not just in Jharkhand but even in Gurugram where he was managing Bandhwari under the name of a different company. The contractor in his complaint said despite executing municipal services for four months, payments amounting to over ?8.5 crore were withheld due to “corrupt motives”. He claimed he was forced to pay bribes at every stage.
What is the current situation?
After the fallout, Sogan and Hitesh Meena were shifted out. The MC is without a Commissioner now and Gurugram without the ADC. The payments made to the contractor have now been dubbed as Rs 50 crore sanitation scam by the RWAs and the Congress.
What does the Opposition say?
The Congress has demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. The party in a letter to the CM has highlighted alleged closeness of the contractor to a government-appointed official during the Khattar government and also shared his pictures with the BJP leaders. The party has accused the BJP of sacrificing civic agencies to the politically backed contractors. The party has demanded an explanation over the transfer of two IAS officers without valid departmental inquiry. The party has demanded immediate termination of his contract and also a ban on hiring blacklisted contractors.
What is officer vs contractor debate?
The transfers have triggered resentment in a section of civil servants in the state. Many have expressed disappointment over the government choosing to act on “non proven” complaint of a blacklisted contractor and not conducting a mandatory inquiry before transferring Sogan. Many officers are now highlighting that a constant pressure was being put on them to hire and pay politically backed contractors despite inefficiency.
Haryana Tribune