Despite cancellation, MC officials extended contracts for over a year

Despite the cancellation of the controversial sanitation tenders in the Panipat Municipal Corporation, in which a scam worth crores had come to the fore and a criminal case had been registered against 12 MC officials and contractors by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), officials extended the contracts for over one and a half years.

The officials extended the tenders three times from May 2024 to December 2025.

The contracts were allotted to Pooja Consulations and IND Sanitation Solutions after dividing the city into four zones in May 2022, and these ended in May 2024.

As per the inquiry conducted by the ACB, the MC officials reportedly adopted this approach towards the companies not only in the past three years, but over the past six years.

According to reports, Pooja Consulations carried out sewage cleaning work from May 2018 to May 2022 and the contract amount had been enhanced by increasing the number of employees from 100 to 150. The MC officials had to check the work of the company, but no record was found.

Apart from it, the company carried out night cleaning work in the city markets from January 2019 to May 2022 and the then MC Commissioner had issued the directions to the officials to submit the daily inspection report, but no record of the inspection was found in the MC.

The Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) had allotted the tender for road sweeping and garbage lifting to Parvati Enterprises in July 2016, but after that the sanitation work of the sector has been shifted to the MC. The payment was made by the MC.

Parvati Enterprises was merged with the IND Sanitation Solution in August 2020 by the firm owner. The MC, on the basis of complaints, imposed fines on the firm seven times from November 2020 to March 2022.

As per the tender agreements, the MC officials enhanced the contract amount 5 per cent every year, while as per the agreement conditions, the contract amount can be increased only after the work of the firm is found satisfactory, mentioned in the FIR registered by the ACB.

Not only this, the contracts worth Rs 3.54 crore had been allotted to Pooja Consulations and IND Sanitation Solutions on May 13, 2022, for two years after dividing the city into four zones. The sanitation contracts had ended in May 2024, but still both the companies are working in the same capacity in the municipal area here. As per the FIR, the companies had caused a revenue loss of over Rs 15.84 crore in two years, but still their contracts had been enhanced three times.

According to the sources, the contracts had been enhanced for one month from May 2024 to June 2024 for the first time. After that the contracts were enhanced for five months from June to November 2024. However, the proposal and estimate of the new tenders had been sent by the Commissioner in August last year, but no new tender was invited so far. The contracts of both companies had been enhanced for one year up to December 2025.

Haryana Tribune