The tainted firm, Abhi Engineering Corporation, run by Kamptee-based Ajju Vijayverghese, a close aide of District Guardian Minister, faced the action as it was found on scrutiny of tenders that the contractor had misplaced or misled over the experience of carrying such vital works like construction of cement concrete roads.
Nagpur: The Standing Committee of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Monday acted over a Nagpur Today report and cancelled the tenders of a Kamptee-based contractor who had bagged the orders for construction of cement concrete roads in various areas fraudulently. The tainted firm, Abhi Engineering Corporation, run by Kamptee-based Ajju Vijayverghese, a close aide of District Guardian Minister, faced the action as it was found on scrutiny of tenders that the contractor had misplaced or misled over the experience of carrying such vital works like construction of cement concrete roads.
The contracting firm, Abhi Engineering Corporation, had mentioned of carrying out construction works of Mahagenco as experience while submitting tenders for construction cement concrete roads. The previous Standing Committee, for obvious reasons, had approved the tenders and had awarded the work orders to the firm. The contractor was supposed to build cement concrete road from Matey Square to Ambazari T-Point, Mangalmurti Square to Shitala Mata Mandir, Madhav Nagar Square to RPTS Square on West High Court Road and Rahate Colony T-Point to Matey Square in Phase-2 of the project.
However, the Present Standing Committee, presided by Chairman Sudhir Raut, scrutinized the tender documents closely in the wake of Nagpur Today report titled “Close aide of Guardian Minister gets cement road contract slyly?” The mention of work experience with Mahagenco raised the doubts in the Standing Committee. Subsequently, a letter was sent to Mahagenco asking it to furnish the details of the works carried out by the firm Abhi Engineering Corporation. The concerned Mahagenco official in his reply stated that the Abhi Engineering Corporation had carried out works such as RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) and PQC (Pavement Quality Concrete) works. Subsequent to the Mahagenco reply, the Standing Committee found that the RCC and PQC works hold no water carrying out vital works such as cement concrete road works. A further dig revealed that the Abhi Engineering Corporation was a petty contracting firm and worked under a big firm or as a sub contractor. It had carried out no big works worth the name.
Armed with the dubious findings, the Standing Committee put its foot down and cancelled the tenders of tainted firm, Abhi Engineering Corporation, run by Kamptee-based Ajju Vijayverghese, a close aide of District Guardian Minister, as far as construction of cement concrete roads is concerned. The Committee also initiated measures to probe as to how the previous Standing Committee or babus concerned overlooked the technical bid aspects and approved the tenders. The guilty could face severe action after the probe report is submitted.
However, for the works of construction of cement concrete roads at abovementioned places, the Standing Committee has decided to float short tenders immediately so that work is completed in stipulated period.
It is pertinent to recall that Nagpur Today had flashed a report titled ““Close aide of Guardian Minister gets cement road contract slyly?” wherein it was stated ‘With the construction of network of cement roads going on in amazing speed across the city and the cost of the project running in crores, the Standing Committee of Nagpur Municipal Corporation underwent ‘tactical pressures’ over the issue of awarding contracts. It is no surprise that one of such contractors, Kamptee-based Ajju Vijayverghese, a close aide of the Guardian Minister, bagged the work order. A firm named Abhi Engineering Corporation, run by Vijayverghese, was awarded the contract to build two cement roads to the tune of Rs 17.46 crore and Rs 11.69 crore, revealed the sources.
Ironically, the said firm had never ever bagged work order for construction of cement roads directly. The firm had played the role of a sub-contractor for a work under Koradi Thermal Power Plant. Then on what basis the Standing Committee awarded the contract to the firm is beyond understanding. In its last meeting, the Standing Committee had approved the three-package tenders under Cement Concrete Road Phase-2. The approximate length of cement roads to be constructed in various areas is 39.97 km. At a time when the three-package tenders were returned to Public Works Department on technical grounds, the six-package tender were floated this year. Out of these tenders, the process for the three-package tenders was further initiated. The working style of the present Chairman of the Standing Committee has left a nasty precedence. It is alleged that he went on a foreign jaunt at the expense of a road building contractor. Most of the members of the committee to were hand-in-glow for ‘pecuniary benefits.’
