Manesar MC Commissioner transferred amid corruption allegations by contractor

Days after Manesar Municipal Commissioner Renu Sogan penalised a local sweeping contractor for non-performance, he approached the Haryana CMO, accusing her of corruption on Monday. A day after the complaint, Sogan was unceremoniously transferred out in a late evening order on Tuesday.

The new Commissioner is yet to be appointed. The officer-contractor tiff started when Sogan slapped a penalty of Rs 4.50 crore on the contractor, Shishpal Singh Rana, of Akanksha Enterprises for not providing enough manpower and equipment to sweep Manesar streets. Sogan claimed that she was flooded with complaints from residents and even local mayor and MLA Bimla Chowdhary.

“The sweeping was not up to the mark. He was not providing enough manpower and after repeated warnings he was fined,” said Sogan. The contractor, however, submitted a complaint to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday, accusing senior civic body officials, including the Manesar MC Commissioner, of deliberately withholding payments, imposing unfair penalties and demanding bribes to process bills.

In his complaint, he alleged that despite executing municipal services for four months, payments amounting to over Rs 8.5 crore were withheld. Rana claimed that while administrative approval for two months was pending at the government level, bills for the other two months were blocked due to “corrupt motives”.

“Every stage of the project, I have been forced to pay bribes, and I have complete documentary evidence of these transactions. The officials have systematically exploited the system, threatening to ruin my business if I don’t bow to their illegal demands,” read the complaint. Sogan, however, called the complaint motivated and act of bullying by the contractor. She has also highlighted that contractor had been blacklisted in Jharkhand.

“He is a non-performer and has a history of being blacklisted. He tried to pressure me to let the things pass, which I didn’t, and thus he submitted the complaint. We will be recommending that he be blacklisted from our authority as well,” said Sogan. A senior MC official, who is also named in complaint, alleged that the contractor was politically backed and had long been arm-twisting the authorities.

The issue that is now being looked into by CM Saini has stirred a debate of supremacy of politically backed contractors in the city.

“It’s a sad state of affairs, but in many cases, the contractors enjoying patronage of ministers or MP’s are more powerful than officials. It’s the municipal authorities who are blamed for civic mess, but actually, we have no authority to act against contractors, and in case we do, we have to face litigations and transfers,” said a senior IAS officer and former MCG Commissioner.

Meanwhile, various RWAs of Manesar have come in support of the Commissioner, seeking enquiry against the

contractor.

Delhi