Harni Boat capsize case: VMC moves proposal before General Board seeking punitive action against executive engineer

The general administration department has also moved another proposal before the General Board after Chauhan was found “guilty” in an inquiry initiated against him in the case of a water network laying project around Vasna water tank. It also sought punitive action against Chauhan in the case.

The two proposals stated that the inquiries initiated against Chauhan have highlighted “misdealings and irregularities”.

In the Harni boat capsize case, the inquiry report had concluded that Chauhan “failed to ensure compliance by the developer of the Motnath Harni lake recreational zone and did not verify if the developer had the necessary licenses and permit to run the entertainment facilities, including the boating”.

The report had added that during his tenure, Chauhan did not check if the developer had the requisite “maintenance certificates” for the boats and other equipment deployed at the Lake Zone and whether the developer had “sought necessary NOCs from time to time”.

The report further stated that although after the division of the wards in July 2019, the onus of checking the records of the Lake Zone was on the executive engineer of east zone, Chauhan “did not submit and handover the necessary records to the east zone engineer”.

The proposal stated that the inquiry report has concluded that the “insincerity shown by Chauhan had damaged the image of the VMC”. It sought the General Board to decide further action to be taken against Chauhan, who is a Class 1 officer, as per rules laid down by the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949.

In the case of the Vasna water tank pipeline network, a separate inquiry has concluded that Chauhan’s “negligence” in the project of extension of the water network had caused “financial loss” to the VMC.

He had “not studied the necessary documents, including the permissions granted to the contractor nor visited the site or coordinated with the other departments” while executing the project, the probe report had said.

While VMC officials said Chauhan is due for retirement in August, the General Board meeting on July 28 is likely to be “adjourned” to pay tribute to former VMC deputy mayor and Congress corporator Chirag Zaveri, who breathed his last in the US on July 8.