Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The arrest of an assistant project manager of Smart City (Bus Division) by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials, on Friday, made it clear that the office is no different from the government offices in terms of corruption.
It may be noted the smart city administration has always claimed that it is a transparent organisation, but the arrest has underlined that it is also deeply rooted in corruption. It is also observed that the officers and personnel appointed on a contractual basis are awarded with adequate financial and administrative powers. Taking advantage of it, corruption seems to have been growing within the office.
Many irregularities had come to the fore in the past. The first one was about purchasing of bollards by spending huge money without permission. Later on, the issue was given a clean chit. The second one was equally shocking. On one simple paper application, the office had appointed an advertising agency to publish advertisements valuing lakhs of rupees. Later on, the agency was kicked out. Now, the same agency has been appointed by going out of the way to display advertisements on smart city buses.
Why the officials wanted to favour the agency, although, there were standing instructions of no new development in this regard?
The Head of Smart City (Bus Division) Sanjay Supekar, through PRO said, “The tender has been opened. The final decision upon it will be taken by the higher authorities soon.”