PWD officials earned heavily from major blacktopping frauds in Rajouri, Nowshera divisions

PWD officials earned heavily from major blacktopping frauds in Rajouri, Nowshera divisions

POONCH TODAY NEWS

RAJOURI: A few PWD officials, with the full support of AEE and X.En, have perpetrated many frauds related to blacktopping of roads at various places in Rajouri and Nowshera divisions during the last few years and are also under the radar of anti-graft agencies. Without laboratory testing, roads were paved with poor quality bitumen at various places. Therefore, the tainted officials in question completely violated the government orders on proper laboratory testing of bitumen for macadamization of roads. The high-profile officials, with the full support of successive AEE, X.En, and SE PWD, did this blacktopping fraud continuously and earned huge amounts through illegal means. Highly placed sources within the PWD department in Rajouri division, pleading anonymity, told “POONCH TODAY” that the same officials were involved in scripting many frauds from various high-profile works and looted government money like anything on fake withdrawals. Although many attempts were made to transfer these officials, behind the curtains, they managed everything. Even up to the office of Chief Engineer, PWD was managed. Sources also said that the Chief Engineer’s office protected those tainted JEs and AEEs who preferred to remain hand in glove with the office of the Chief Engineer, and as a result, many tainted JEs and AEEs enjoyed the choicest postings both in the Rajouri and Nowshera divisions. Even in the Nowshera division, a powerful PWD engineer oversaw everything for years and looted the government exchequer through fraudulent withdrawals on various works, but when RTI applicants approached the office of XEn PWD Nowshera, the transparency act was repeatedly violated, fearing exposure of massive fraud. A high-level inquiry is needed from the government to see how many PWD engineers played foul in Rajouri and Nowshera divisions under various schemes, especially from black topping related works.