Srinagar, Jan 15 (FN Agency) Days after two senior officials of the Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL) were booked for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known source of income, the Anti Corruption Bureau of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday registered two Preliminary Enquiries (PEs) related to the prestigious project. The PEs were registered in connection with the alleged misappropriation of Devari Stones and the use of substandard material in the prestigious project. The PE was registered in Police Station ACB Srinagar following reliable inputs indicating the misappropriation of materials, including Devari stones- a type of stone used in construction and landscaping in Kashmir- path tiles, and iron grills in Srinagar City.
“The material is suspected to have been either unaccounted for or allegedly sold in the open market for personal gains, during the revamp and beautification under the Srinagar Smart City Ltd. project rather than being retained in the stores of the concerned Engineering Division,” the ACB said. The second PE was also registered in ACB Police in Srinagar about the use of substandard material in ongoing development work at Foreshore Road Nishat in Srinagar City for cycle track, footpath facing Dal Lake and viewing decks etc from Nishat up to Naseem Bagh Public Health Centre. “The officers/officials of Srinagar Smart City Ltd. in connivance with the beneficiary contractor also deliberately avoided the mandatory procedures thereby compromising the quality of works,” the ACB said. The ACB said the probe of both Preliminary Enquiries is in progress. On January 10, the Chief Financial Officer Sajid Yousuf Bhat and Executive Engineer of SSCL Zahoor Ahmad Dar were booked for owning disproportionate assets.