Haryana Irrigation Dept: 18 Construction Material Samples Fail Tests

Chandigarh, Jun 11 (PTI) Eighteen of the 48 samples of construction materials used in various ongoing projects of Haryana's Irrigation Department failed quality tests, and 80 officials have been chargesheeted for these lapses, a minister said on Wednesday.

Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Shruti Choudhry said that there will be no compromise on the quality of construction materials.

According to an official statement, she said 48 samples of construction materials used in various ongoing projects of the Irrigation Department were collected, out of which 18 failed quality tests.

"As a result, 80 officials, including Junior Engineers (JE) to Chief Engineers have been charge-sheeted under Sections 7 and 8 of the Haryana Civil Services Rules," she said.

She emphasized that the government will not tolerate corruption.

She said some projects were nearing completion, a stage where the accountability of officials increases significantly. After repeated complaints, the vigilance wing of the department conducted raids and took samples, stated the minister.

She said that a significant amount of payment had already been made to the contractors. She stated that the possibilities of recovering the funds from the contractors will be explored.

About the Kishau Dam project, Choudhry said that it is a national-level project and holds great importance for Haryana. Through this dam, Haryana will not only receive water for irrigation and drinking purposes. The state will get 709 cusecs of water from the Yamuna river through the Kishau Dam, she said.