New Delhi:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against two senior officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), including its Chief General Manager S K Nirmal, for allegedly abusing their official position and favouring a particular construction company in award of contracts.
The CBI filed an FIR against Nirmal, General Manager of NHAI Nitin Jain, Managing Director of Oriental Structure Pvt Ltd K S Bakshi and one of his employees S K Dikshit, the agency said.
After filing the FIR in a court, officials of the apex investigating agency carried out searches at eight places in the national capital and Jaipur during which it claimed to have recovered Rs 46 lakh from Nirmal's house and another Rs 1 core in cash from Jain's house and bank locker.
A CBI spokesman claimed that the modus operandi of NHAI officials was to eliminate all potential contenders on one pretext or the other to favour a particular company ensuring huge financial gains to it.
It has been alleged that NHAI officials entered into a criminal conspiracy with the Managing Director of the private firm and favoured his company in bagging contracts for a project in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the spokesman said.
The work included development, operation or maintenance of four-laning of Nagpur-Betul Section of NH-69 in Maharashtra under NHDP Phase-IV on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (annuity) basis through public-private partnership.
NHAI had received 13 offers for the project out of which four were rejected by the officials allegedly on frivolous grounds at qualification stage.
Later, four other companies were also eliminated from next stage of bidding by making stipulations pertaining to submission of original documents in gross violation of the conditions of the tender, the agency alleged.
It has also been alleged that the officers of NHAI gave key confidential, strategic and vital information to the company during the process of tender which in turn helped it gain greater financial benefits.