Times
of India: Chandigarh: Friday, 30 January 2015.
As many as 31
employees attached with various wings of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation
have been suspended and charge-sheeted in the past three years. The employees
were slapped with departmental punishments for allegedly accepting bribes,
procedural lapses, and violating the instructions of senior officials, among
others.
The
revelations came through queries filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act
by 'The Times of India'. The maximum number of tainted employees (15 out of 31)
were attached with the office of the Medical Officer of Health, Chandigarh.
They were slapped with punishments for allegedly delaying official works and
coming under CBI investigations. Six employees of the Fire and Emergency
Services were suspended and charge-sheeted for not attending to their duty with
a professional commitment. Four other charge-sheeted and suspended employees
were attached with the Electrical Wing of the Municipal Corporation.
A senior MC
officer told ToI: "The departmental proceedings against almost all 31
employees are pending, and some of them were punished by stopping their annual
increments. Four employees, including one class-II officer, have already
challenged the decisions of the disciplinary authority." MC commissioner
Vivek Pratap Singh said: "The fate of the tainted employees is reviewed
from time to time by the officials concerned. I too review the status of
suspended and charge-sheeted employees. The prime reason behind the pendency of
departmental proceedings against the tainted employees is the filing of appeals
by them."
The RTI reply
also states that the Department of Medical Officer of Health (MOH) is the
largest MC wing, with 1,310 employees (1,304 regular and six contractual),
while the Electrical Division is the smallest wing, with only 46 employees (22
regular and 24 contractual).
Patwari
reinstated
An MC
patwari, Balraj Singh - who was apprehended for accepting a bribe of Rs50,000
from a local resident in February 2013 - has been reinstated by MC authorities.
Singh had been suspended immediately after his arrest. MC commissioner Vivek
Pratap Singh said: "Though we reinstated the patwari, his fate depends on
the criminal proceedings which are pending in the local court. He will be
slapped with stricter punishment if found guilty."
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