CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued notices to Punjab officers in multiple cases concerning financial irregularities in government projects.
A notice was issued to the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in connection with a case involving return of bank guarantees to a company associated with former Punjab Industries and Power Minister Sanjeev Arora, who was arrested a few days back.
In another case, Chief Administrator of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) was summoned to appear before it on Monday in an ongoing money-laundering investigation into alleged massive irregularities in Change of Land Use (CLU) approvals granted to two real estate projects Suntec City and Altus Space Builders Private Limited.
Sources said that the Enforcement Directorate has issued a notice to the CMD of PSPCL, Basant Garg, a Punjab cadre IAS officer and Director (Commercial) Harsharan Kaur Trehan, asking them to produce on Monday the record related to the alleged favour extended to the company, Ritesh Properties and Industries Limited. As a bank guarantee of Rs 1.97 crore was allegedly refunded to the company by the power utility, while Arora was the Power Minister.
It is learnt that PSPCL will provide the records to the ED, and the official will take it, and CMD, PSPCL, Basant Garg might not go himself.
In 2023, while Arora was a Rajya Sabha member, Ritesh Properties applied to the PSPCL for revised NOC for increasing its contract demand from 1,950 KVA to 7,293 KVA at 66 KV voltage.
As mandated by the PSPCL regulations, the company deposited a bank guarantee of Rs 1.97 crore. That guarantee was valid till September 12, 2028.
The NOC was issued by the PSPCL on October 20, 2023. But last year when Arora became the minister the company applied for change of supply voltage from 66 KV to 11 KV.
For that, the company was asked to deposit a bank guarantee of Rs 1.87 crore. The company was told that the earlier bank guarantee would be returned only on submission of the new bank guarantee.
In September last year, the company appealed to Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) to reduce the bank guarantee and other charges.
In January this year, the PSERC said the guarantee should be taken on contract demand, instead of load.
On February 2, the company wrote to the PSPCL to return the bank guarantee of Rs 1.97 crore and the PSPCL returned the money without the company depositing the revised bank guarantee.
When engineers protested and raised the issue that the bank guarantee was replaced on April 6.
In another case, ED issued summons to Chief Administrator of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and directed the officer to be present himself or send an authorized representative (not below Gazetted Officer rank) to the office of the agency in Jalandhar.
The notice states that the Chief Administrator’s personal appearance is required to give evidence and for production of records in the PMLA probe. Failure to comply would invite penal action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Proceedings under Section 50 of PMLA are deemed judicial, said sources.
On May 8 ED has conducted searches at around a dozen locations in Mohali, Chandigarh, New Chandigarh and Patiala, including the offices of Indian Cooperative Housing Building Society, promoter of Suntec City, it's office-bearers Ajay Sehgal and Suresh Kumar Bajaj, Altus Space Builders Private Limited, ABS Townships Private Limited, promoter of Dhir Constructions Gaurav Dhir, and alleged middleman Nitin Gohal.
Approximately Rs 1 crore in cash and incriminating documents were seized in the raids.
Sources said that the ED investigation is based on two FIRs, one registered at Mullapur Police Station in which it is alleged that fake consent letters with forged signatures of 15 landowners from Palheri village were used to secure CLU permission for 30.5 acres for the Suntec City mega project, and other at Phase 11 Police Station in which many homebuyers accused Altus Space Builders of selling plots in its ‘Millennium Court’ project at Nagiari village by misrepresenting conditional CLU approvals as final.