Reiterating its demand of extensive inquiry, Punjab Congress on Monday raised questions on the way the multi-crore lED sites on the Heritage Street near the Golden Temple in Amritsar were leased out by the erstwhile Akali Government “through a hastily floated tender”.
Alleging favouritism, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Sunil Jakhar said that Heritage Street ads contract was awarded to a Jaipur-based agency in violation of all norms at an abysmally low amount of less than `42,000 a month in what clearly appeared to be a case of financial misdemeanour aimed at filling the pockets of a few individuals.
“Entire deal was evidently crafted to promote vested financial interests of a few, indicating a mega scam involving some high officials in the Badal Government,” he alleged.
“Why else would a multi-crore property be leased out for such a shockingly low price of ` five lakh a yearIJ” asked the PPCC chief, demanding an explanation from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), under whose tenure the deal was finalised.
Considering the huge footfall of pilgrims that throng Sri Harmandir Sahib every day, the property should ideally have fetched crores of rupees for the State exchequer but was allowed to be leased out for peanuts, he pointed out.
“According to information available with me, only two agencies, both coincidentally Jaipur-based, had applied in response to the tender floated for the giant screens, with a miniscule difference in the quotes, which clearly suggested underhand dealings,” he said adding that it was hard to believe that such a premium tender did not evoke any interest from more agencies.
He pointed that entire process was completed at an exceptional speed, which itself indicates lack of transparency.
“If the original tender genuinely failed to evoke a suitable response, why was the tender not refloated, instead of allowing such prime sites to go for such a paltry sumIJ” Jakhar asked, adding that the entire deal smacked of financial transgression, which would surely be exposed in the inquiry ordered by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh into the controversial telecast of liquor ads on the lED screens.
Jakhar requested the Chief Minister to ensure that inquiry is made broad-based enough to go into the entire aspect of the deal in minute detail, including the process undertaken by the authorities to lease out the sites.
The inquiry should ascertain if the process followed the legal provisions that lay down the essential parameters for undertaking such high-profile contracts, he added.
Jakhar also demanded to know from the erstwhile Akali Government what checks and balances were put in place to control the content to be telecast on the screens, while urging Capt Amarinder to direct strong administrative measures to weed out any negative content in the future.
PPCC chief reiterated his demand that the lease for the Heritage Street lED screens be cancelled if the contract is found to be, in any way, violative of any legal provisions under the Indian law or Constitution.