Punjab Health Secy gets notice on Moosewala’s father’s harassment claim
The government has questioned why the matter was not brought to the attention of the Chief Minister or the Health Minister before an investigation.
The Punjab government on Thursday claimed to have cracked down on corruption in a matter pertaining to the malpractices with regard to the Galiara Project in Amritsar.
In a statement here today, a spokesperson of the local government department said that 33 officials of the corporation cadre, who remained posted at Municipal Corporation Amritsar and dealt with issues regarding Galiara Project were chargesheeted for dereliction of duty and willful violation.
The action has been initiated under the provisions of Municipal Corporation Act and Rules, said the spokesperson.
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“After following due procedure as per rules and after obtaining comments from the charged officials, an enquiry was conducted with Additional District Judge (Retd.) B C Gupta as inquiry officer,” added the spokesperson.
The enquiry officer submitted its report on 27 January, 2016 as per which charges could not be proven against 20 officials while the rest were found guilty.
The enquiry was conducted in pursuant to the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, elaborated the spokesperson.
It was alleged that vast amount of the violations such as conversion of residential buildings into hotels, serais and guest houses in and around the area of Galiara was found.
The provisions were made without seeking permission from the competent authority and without paying conversion charges thus causing a colossal loss to the departmental exchequer.
The spokesperson also divulged that upon reviewing the entire matter considering its gravity, the Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu decided to give personal hearing to all concerned officials for reviewing or enhancement of punishment commensurate with their misconduct.
During the personal hearing, the charged officials were unable to refute charges of dereliction of duty, added the spokesperson.
“The move is taken to send a strong message to all to discharge their duties in an honest, transparent manner with adherence to the rules in letter and spirit,” said the spokesperson.
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