The Justice JS Narang Commission, probing allegations of irregularities in sand mining auctions in Punjab, has submitted its report to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday morning in a sealed cover.
The Chief Minister has further marked the report to the Chief Secretary Karan Avtra Singh asking him to revert with his comments within two weeks’ time. Capt Amarinder had ordered constitution of the one-man commission following allegations involving the state Power and Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singh in the sand mining auctions conducted by the Department of Mining in May this year.
The commission of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s retired judge Justice JS Narang was mandated to probe all aspects of the allegations of impropriety against the Irrigation and Power Minister in the multi-crore sand mining auctions.
It was tasked with inquiring whether the terms and conditions of the bid were adhered to while awarding the tender of two mines to ex-employees of the Minister and whether Rana Gurjit Singh had in any manner influenced the price bid at which these two mines were awarded, and if the bidders were bidding on behalf of the minister in question for the two mines.
The Commission, set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, was also asked to inquire whether the Minister has received any undue financial benefit or gain from the award of such two mines to the bidders and if there has been any loss to the state revenue by the award of such two mines to the bidders at the price in question.
Going into background of the matter, four “employees” of Rana Gurjit Singh had bagged mining contracts for four sites worth crores of rupees, following which the judicial commission of inquiry was constituted under Justice Narang. One of the employees, Amit Bahadur, a cook, got the contract of a mining site at Saidpur Khurd village in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar for Rs 26.51 crore, while Kulwinder Pal Singh, a deputy general manager in Rana Gurjit’s one of the company, got the contract of Mehadipur quarry for Rs 9.21 crore.
Another employee Gurinder Singh bagged a quarry in Rampur Kalan village in Mohali for Rs 4.11 crore, and Balraj Singh bagged a mining contract at Bairsal village for Rs 10.58 crore. Both Balraj and Gurinder backed out when it came to depositing 55 per cent of the bidding amount, and thus not allotted the sites.