Delhi L-G approves registration of case against PWD engineers under Prevention of Corruption Act

New Delhi: Delhi's Lieutenant Governor (L-G), VK Saxena, has given the green light for the registration of a case under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PoC) Act, 1988, against an Assistant Engineer and a Junior Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD).

This approval was granted despite the fact that the PWD's administrative department had not recommended an inquiry against the accused engineers.

In the case of an accused Executive Engineer involved in the same matter, a decision will be made by the National Capital Territory Civil Services Authority (NCCSA) due to their Group 'A' status.

The LG's decision to approve the case registration was based on the findings of the Anti-Corruption Branch, GNCTD (Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi), and a recommendation from the Directorate of Vigilance.

Saxena has also directed action against the PWD officers who allegedly attempted to shield the accused Engineers, even though the Anti-Corruption Branch had found a prima facie case against them.

The LG's approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, pertains to the case against JS Chauhan, Assistant Engineer, and Devi Singh, Junior Engineer.

The allegations revolve around the release of payment to a contractor without proper verification of work done in a road construction project in South Delhi.

The LG's decision is rooted in his assessment that, after examining the facts and records of the case, it is in the interest of justice to investigate the allegations by registering a case.

The allegations originally stem from a complaint filed on May 19, 2017, by Rahul Sharma, the founder of the NGO ‘Roads Anti-Corruption Organization.’ The complaint alleged that payments were disbursed despite no work being carried out at the site designated for the "strengthening of road and improvement of footpath, drainage system, central verge of EPDP Road (Malik Ram Issar Marg, New Delhi)" in the Kalkaji area.

This alleged malpractice resulted in a loss to the Government exchequer. The Anti-Corruption Branch after conducting a preliminary inquiry, filed a complaint related to the work against three PWD Engineers, including Executive Engineer RS Garg, Assistant Engineer JS Chauhan, and Junior Engineer Devi Singh.