Councillor Jha questions school, health centre works in Dharampeth Zone, seeks probe

A fresh controversy has erupted over construction works in Dharampeth Zone. Zone committee member and councillor Abhijeet Jha has complained to the municipal commissioner. He says irregularities are surfacing in the construction of a school building and a health centre. Earlier, corruption and malpractice in works carried out in the same zone in the name of flood relief after September 2023 had been exposed. Another case of malpractice is now coming to light in the municipal corporation.

According to Jha, Rs 2 crore was spent on the Surendragarh school building in Ward 13. Within just two years, however, cracks appeared in the building and seepage problems also emerged. He made the claim citing documents.

The Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) at Ravi Nagar is also under question. It was inaugurated on June 10. The building was constructed at a cost of Rs 19 lakh, but it is alleged that its tiles began breaking soon after the inauguration.

Jha has also raised the issue of duplication of works. He says there is heavy duplication in works sanctioned under the District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC) and the flood control fund. For instance, a work order of Rs 25 lakh under the DPDC was issued to contractors Pawan Gajbhiye and Kamlesh Chauhan for a 150-metre drain wall at Azad Nagar, from Deepak Dhande to Bismillah Kirana. The same work was also shown as sanctioned under the flood control scheme.

All these works were carried out during the tenure of Vijay Gurubakshani, then executive engineer of Dharampeth Zone. He has now been brought from the zone to the headquarters with additional charge as superintending engineer. It is alleged that this was done to protect him. In view of his controversial tenure, he has not been given any major responsibility since coming to the headquarters.

The deputy engineer of Dharampeth Zone did not turn up at review meetings called by the municipal commissioner even after being summoned three times. The assistant commissioner and the executive engineer were present at the meetings, but the deputy engineer concerned was absent. It is alleged that, because of heavy pressure from the ruling side, no departmental inquiry or action is under way despite complaints.

Another matter concerns the zone chairperson, who is accused of exceeding their authority by issuing letters and trying to allocate funds. A letter is being written to the corporation secretary about this.

Slackness is also visible in basic development of the city. The road from CP Club to Mother Dairy was sanctioned in 2023. A site visit has been held and funds have been received from the Central government. Even so, work on the road has been stalled for the past six months. Jha has demanded an inquiry into all these matters.