Amritsar Improvement Trust tender row: A fter SSP, now 7 engineers suspended

Regarding previous tender cancellations, Rintu said, back then, the government changed. “When the other political official came here, the charge was with the DC, and he came and cancelled all the tenders that had been placed. And this…tender was one of them”.

Punjab government has suspended seven engineers from the Amritsar Improvement Trust over alleged irregularities in a Rs 52.80-crore tender for the Ranjit Avenue development project, it has been learnt.

A December 30 order issued by by Local Government Secretary Manjeet Singh Brar lists Satbhushan Sachdeva (Executive Engineer), Raminderpal Singh and Bikram Singh (Trust Engineers), Sukhrippal Singh, Shubham Pipesh, and Manpreet Singh (Assistant Trust Engineers), and Mandeep Singh (Junior Engineer). The order issued under Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeals) Rules 1970, fixes their headquarters at the Local Government Department’s Chandigarh office during suspension.

Improvement Trust chairman Kiranjeet Singh Rintu confirmed that the suspensions were related to the same matter involving the SSP, explaining that “primarily, the contractors had complaints against each other following which the Chief Secretary had marked an inquiry”. Rintu said, “This inquiry was constituted under the purview of the DC (Deputy Commissioner). The DC further formed a sub-committee”. He added that “action has been taken based on the committee’s report”.

Asked about development priorities between the affluent Ranjit Avenue and underserved areas like Jahajgarh, Rintu defended the allocation, saying, “You cannot compare the property value…here the land is worth Rs four to five lakh per yard”. He assured that “work is going on in other areas too”.

The action followed complaints by Seegal India Limited about tender process flaws, leading Amritsar DC to form a four-member probe committee whose findings prompted the suspensions. Earlier, Vigilance SSP Lakhbir Singh was also suspended in a related matter. Copies of the order have been sent to the Local Government Director, Deputy Commissioner Amritsar, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development), and Trust officials for necessary action, with the probe ongoing and potential for further measures. This move underscores the Mann government’s firm stance against corruption on the year’s last day.