Mohali mayor Kulwant Singh suspended for misuse of power

January 4, 2018 - PatialaPolitics


“The corrupt practices would not be tolerated at any cost and as part of this commitment the Mayor ofMunicipal Corporation, Mohali Kulwant Singh has been suspended along with 3 other officers after taking strong note of the misdemeanors of these people regarding causing loss to the state exchequer. The case recommending suspension of the then Commissioner has been sent to the Government. Apart from this 2 other officials have been chargesheeted too.”Zero tolerance towards corruption: Navjot Singh SidhuCase sent to government for actionagainst then commissionerXEN, DCFA also suspended & 3 other officers chargesheetedDisclosing this here today in a statement, the Local Government Minister, Punjab, Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu said that it is an article of faith with him to have zero tolerance towards corruption and nobody would be permitted to misuse the hard earned money of the taxpayers. The minister further said that it had come to the notice of the department the then Mayorof Municipal Corporation, Mohali Kulwant Singh in connivance with the then Commissioner Rajesh Dhiman and other officials indulged in blatant misuseof his position and caused a loss of grave nature to the state exchequer while making a purchase of the Tree Pruning Machine. The machine was priced at Rs. 28 lakh in the country while for making its purchase from abroad theprice was Rs. 80 lakh. But a resolution was passed for purchasing it at exorbitant price of Rs. 1.79 crore and orders were placed for its purchase. Theminister further elaborated that the department got the probe conducted by the vigilance cell and the orders initiatingaction have been issued against the Mayor and officials found guilty in the report of the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO).Acting on the report of CVO, orders havebeen issued for suspension of Mayor Kulwant Singh from Mayorship and fromcouncillorship as well for causing misuse of power and causing financial loss to Municipal Corporation, Mohali. Similarly, the then Commissioner Rajesh Dhiman  has been chargesheeted in accordance with the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment & Appeal) Rules 1970 Section 8 and case recommendinghis suspension has been sent to the concerned department. In the same vein,XEN Naresh Batta and DCFA Vinayak have been suspended according to the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment & Appeal) Rules 1970 Section 8. Apart from this, ACE Mohinderpal and SurinderGoyal have both been chargesheeted and recommendation has been made forchargesheeting Internal Local Fund Auditor of the Municipal Corporation, Mohali. The orders placed for purchasing the machine have been cancelled promptly and the recovery of amount paid in advance to the contractor has also been ordered.