The Principal Director of Audit (Central), Chandigarh, has uncovered significant financial irregularities in a streetlight project executed by the office of the Executive Engineer, Electrical Division No. 3.
The audit, covering the period from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2024, and conducted between March 26 and April 2, 2025, found that the project for installing streetlights via underground cabling on the slow carriageway witnessed a steep cost escalation of 44.75% from the original tendered amount.
According to the report, the tender work from Tribune Chowk (Junction 38) to Poultry Farm (Junction 39) was awarded to a Pinjore-based firm at Rs 30,04,430, nearly 40% lower than the administrative approval of Rs 50,04,047.43. While the project was completed on October 31, 2022, auditors observed that additional items worth Rs 4,49,706 and Rs 5,24,617 were approved by the Executive Engineer (XEN) and Superintending Engineer (SE) respectively, along with a deviation approval of Rs 4,26,304 by the XEN. The final project cost stood at Rs 43,49,110.67, exceeding the permissible 20% variation allowed under departmental norms.
The audit report emphasised that proper preparation of the Detailed Notice Inviting Tender (DNIT) could have avoided such escalations and minimised malpractice related to non-scheduled items.
The review also highlighted irregular GST payments of Rs 2,63,769 to the contractor, who had not filed GST returns for 2023-24 and 2024-25, and whose GST registration was cancelled effective April 5, 2023. Despite this, the Electrical Division paid Rs 20,41,389 to the contractor for works executed between August 2023 and June 2024, deducting only Rs 34,854 (2%) as TDS on GST. Additionally, the contractor's final bill claim of Rs 1,92,603 remained pending.
Auditors raised concerns over the GST challans, noting that they did not mention the principal employer's name, indicating potential misuse in other government or private departments. The audit classified the Rs 2,63,769 payment as "unverified."
The report also noted that the Electrical Division had not yet responded to these findings, and final action on the matter is still awaited.
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