Churchill is involved, engineer tells ACB
TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: Suspended Executive Engineer K H Kamaladini on Wednesday disclosed to Anti Corruption Bureau officials that former Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao was apparently involved in the scam regarding water supply tenders, currently being investigated by the ACB.
Kamaladini, who is accused of forgery while issuing tenders for 19 works in November 2011 has reportedly told ACB officials that Alemao had instructed him to personally obtain signatures of superiors on tender estimates files.
Interestingly, the involvement of two other PWD officers who would reportedly route the estimates files to Alemao, has come to the fore. The files would then get approved without advertising in newspapers.
“Dhond and Chimulkar signed on the file and routed it to the (PWD) minister who approved the estimate with a note to tender it without advertising on the newspapers… He was under the instructions of Alemao to personally obtain the signature of superiors,” a source revealed.
It is also learnt that the tenders were not received in sealed envelopes and this was overlooked by PWD officials.
The ACB had raided Kamaladini’s house and bank lockers last week and confiscated over Rs 18 lakh cash and gold ornaments. He was summoned for questioning on Wednesday and is likely to be called again.
Meanwhile, the Anti Corruption Branch of the Directorate of Vigilance is conducting another inquiry into the tender pertaining to the supply of potable drinking water to water scarcity areas in the villages of Mandrem for the year 2011-12.
Sources said that a private tanker GA-03-T-5152 was engaged by the PWD on contract to fill the water tanker at Mandrem pump house, daily. The tanker would then go to locations indicated by a junior engineer under whose instructions two field officers would work.
The instructions would be through telephonic calls whenever the tanker would come to the office. Sources say the private tanker does not figure in the list of registered tankers.
It has been alleged that the tankers engaged by the PWD would supply water for various commercial purposes, illegally. The register maintained with the department is neither certified, nor has it numbered the pages in serial order.
“ I’m not involved, don’t bother me”
An agitated former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao said that he was not involved in any illegality regarding the floating of PWD tenders. He requested not to bother him regarding such things. “I have already told you, I am not involved in anything,” Alemao retorted.
