The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has searched 16 premises linked to the officials of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), NBCC (India) Limited, and private entities in and around Delhi, Chennai and Kerala, in connection with two cases alleging irregularities in the award of DJB tenders.
One case pertains to a first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging that some officials of the DJB, in conspiracy with those from the NBCC, extended undue favours to NKG Infrastructure Limited in awarding a tender for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of electromagnetic flow meters.
‘False performance certificates’
It is alleged that KG Infrastructure secured false performance certificates purportedly issued by D.K. Mittal, the then NBCC general manager, and forged a deviation statement purportedly issued by Sadhan Kumar, the then NBCC project executive, to qualify for the technical bid in 2017. The company then conspired with the then chief engineer, Jagdish Kumar Arora, and his subordinates of the DJB, to bag the tender worth ₹38 crore.
The second case was registered by the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch with respect to the award of a DJB tender for setting up automated bill payment collection machines at its various offices. The tender was awarded to the Corporation Bank in 2012, which was further sub-contracted to Chennai-based Freshpay IT Solutions Private Limited and Aurrum E-payments Private Limited, said the agency.
These private companies allegedly violated the conditions of the agreement by not depositing the cash collections from the machines in the DJB’s bank account within the prescribed time period.
The contract was initially awarded for three years and extended by the DJB from time to time till 2019-20 despite continued delay and non-transfer of the collected amount. During the demonetisation period, cash collections amounting to ₹10.40 crore were not deposited or transferred to the DJB and the funds collected in 2019 were reconciled with the bill payments of that duration, after a gap of over 300 days, the ED has alleged.
According to the ED, the total principal loss caused to the DJB was ₹14.41 crore and the amount is still outstanding with Freshpay IT Solutions; Aurrum E-payments and its director, Rajenderan K. Nair.
During the searches, the agency has seized documents and digital devices. “Details of various undeclared properties in the name of Jagdish Kumar Arora were also seized,” it said.
