Probe ordered into purchases, appointments made by EO

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27: A vigilance inquiry has been ordered into the purchases and appointments made in the Estate Office between October 19...

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27: A vigilance inquiry has been ordered into the purchases and appointments made in the Estate Office between October 1995 and March 1998.

The inquiry has been ordered by UT Administrator B.K.N. Chhibber on a written complaint received in his office, it is learnt.

Senior officials in Administration confirmed that the probe was on but refused to divulge the name of the complainant, saying it would affect the probe proceedings. quot;It could even be a baseless complaint,quot; they said.

According to reliable sources, the complaint states that material worth about Rs one crore was purchased during the period under scrutiny and the officials did not follow proper procedures. The expenditure incurred on renovation work on the first floor of the Estate Office was also not properly accounted for, it added.

Objects like computers, cameras, monitors, mobile phones and ambulances were reportedly bought during the period. The complainant has also alleged that many of these did not actually exist in the office. Also, some appointments were made during this period without following proper procedure.

When contacted a few days ago, the then deputy commissioner-cum-estate officer K.K. Khandelwal said that proper procedure was followed while making the purchases. quot;Every purchase was sanctioned by the finance department and all material was purchased from approved sources and firms,quot; he said. He was not available for comments today as he was reportedly out of town.

According to sources, the vigilance department had visited the Estate Office on Tuesday and taken away some documents besides questioning a few officials. A few days ago, the vigilance officers had asked certain departments to furnish information about the purchases and who the issuance and sanctioning authority was, budget provision and usage of the purchased articles. These are Election, Excise and Taxation, Red Cross, Cooperation departments and office of Block Development and Panchayat Officer BDPO.

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Information relating to the appointments whether they were on daily wage, ad hoc or regular was also sought by the officers, it is learnt.

In what seems to be a fallout of the on-going inquiry, some equipment being used to make learner8217;s licence was resumed by their owners last evening. The things that were taken away include two computers and a camera, the sources said. Officials say the owners took them away as these were on trial and not sanctioned by the authorities as promised by certain officials.

As a result, the functioning at the office was adversely affected with the employees using typewriter in the non-availability of computers. Also, the people coming to get learner8217;s licence made were asked to bring two photographs as the cameras were also not available.

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