Punjab Vigilance Bureau case against six PSIEC officials for illegally allotting industrial plots nears and dears

Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has registered a case against six officials (now retired) of Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC), namely S.P. Singh, Chief General Manager, Jaswinder Singh Randhawa General Manager , Amarjeet Singh Kahlon Estate Officer, Vijay Gupta Senior Assistant, Darshan Garg Consultant and Savtej Singh SDO. These officers/employees had misused their official positions and wrongly allotted expensive industrial plots to their relatives, friends and known persons thereby causing a financial loss of Rs 8,72,71,666 crore to the state exchequer. In this case, two officers of the corporation, Chief General Manager (Estates) S.P. Singh and General Manager (Personnel) Jaswinder Singh Randhawa have been arrested and produced before the court, where the court has granted four-days remand to the VB for further investigation into the case. The VB is on the hunt to arrest the remaining accused.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said in this regard after investigation of a Vigilance Enquiry No. 03 dated 04-04-2018, FIR No 4, dated 08.03.2024 has been registered against the above mentioned six officers/employees of PSIEC under sections 409, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B and section 13(1), 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station, Vigilance Bureau, Flying Squad-1, Punjab, SAS Nagar.

He revealed that during investigation it has come to light that the P.S.I.E.C. had not adhered to the prescribed instructions at the time of allotment of industrial plots. The officers/employees of the corporation, misusing their position, wrongly allotted expensive industrial plots to their relatives/friends/known persons, causing huge financial losses to the Government. To suppress this scam, the said accused in connivance with each other have also lost some government files related to the illegal allotment of plots.

The spokesperson further informed that there is no provision in the policy regarding providing zero percent interest in the said corporation, however, as per the noting dated 01-08-2000 of the Managing Director of the corporation and the resolution passed by the Board of Directors on 08-02-2005 a waiver was granted in this regard, but both these orders had not been notified by the state government.

He added that General Manager (Personnel) Jaswinder Singh Randhawa had allotted plots in the name of his close relative/friend/unknown person. S.P. Singh, Chief General Manager (Estate), while misusing his position, wrongly changed the allotment and possession of industrial plots of the corporation and assisted Randhawa in getting the plots allotted to his known persons/relatives, as the applicants were interviewed by accused SP Singh.

He further added that with the connivance of the said officials of the corporation, had waived off revenue of 14 plots located in the Industrial Focal Point, S.A.S. Nagar (Plot No. E-261, C-210, D-247, E-260, C-211, D-250, E-260A, C-209, E-330, C- 177, D-206, E-250, 234 and C-168) and caused a total revenue loss of Rs 8,72,71,66 to the government. Later the occupants had earned huge profits by selling these plots through property dealers on the market rates. Further investigation into this matter was under progress, he said.