Fraudulent payments, fake measurements: CBI books 11 PWD engineers, contractor for Delhi flyovers ‘scam’
Officials allegedly made fraudulent payments for undelivered materials meant to reduce noise and vibration on South Delhi flyovers
3 min read
The complaint was filed the Chief Vigilance Officer in the Central PWD, Nirman Bhawan four years ago. (File photo)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against 11 engineers of Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) and a contractor for allegedly making fraudulent payments and manipulating records in a flyover maintenance project between 2012 and 2019.
The case involves work meant to reduce vibration and noise on several South Delhi flyovers, including those at Outer Ring Road, Ber Sarai, Munirka, Masoodpur and Vasant Vihar. The contractor was paid Rs 5.09 crore for work valued at Rs 3.98 crore in the tender. An FIR was filed by the CBI in the case in November 2024.
According to the CBI FIR, the officials allegedly:
- Made payments for materials never delivered to the site
- Manipulated measurement records
- Made an overpayment of Rs 40.5 lakh for rabbit wire mesh that was never installed
- Awarded new contracts before the existing contractor’s maintenance period ended
The matter came to light after the PWD’s vigilance unit received a complaint in November 2020. V K Parashar, chief vigilance officer of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), filed a formal complaint with the CBI in August 2021 after preliminary investigation.
“During preliminary investigation, it was found that the work…was executed by the contractor for a tendered amount of Rs 3.98 crore. The final bill amounting to Rs 5.09 crore was paid…on September 11, 2015,” he alleged in the complaint, which is a part of the FIR.
The accused include three executive engineers, four junior engineers, and four assistant engineers from PWD’s South West Road-I Division, along with the contractor. They have been booked for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and violations of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The investigation revealed that while the project was completed in May 2015, the contractor was responsible for maintaining the mastic (asphalt) work until May 2020 under a five-year defect liability period. However, two engineers allegedly initiated plans to replace this work before the maintenance period ended.
According to the FIR, reports submitted by the executive engineer of South West Road-I, PWD, “rabbit wire mesh with nails over road surface was not provided at site of work, but was paid to the contractor under various bills… Fraudulent payment of Rs 40.5 lakh seems to have been made by the alleged PWD officials against fake/false measurements of Munirka, Ber Sarai flyover, Masoodpur flyover.”
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