Nagpur: In an astonishing turn of events, Nagpur finds itself entangled in a scandalous financial debacle, with a staggering sum of ₹11 crore at the center of the controversy. While junior officers are made the sacrificial lambs, senior officials are suspected of masterminding the evasion of dues from contractors even after partial completion of projects.
The Complex Case:
Gold Rate
23 April 2025
As revealed by insiders, the entire project was estimated to cost approximately ₹19 crore. Of this amount, close to ₹4,078 meters of work had been executed under the supervision of junior engineers and executive engineers in the Lakshminagar zone. Surprisingly, these officials managed to get approvals for an astonishing ₹10.85 crore worth of bills earlier. Moreover, for a portion of work totaling around 84%, bills were cleared up to ₹91 crore. In this process, assistant engineer Anand Lamsonge and junior engineer Shailesh Jambhulkar played pivotal roles, managing a workload of 714 meters and raising invoices for about 16% of the project. As a result, the initial scrutiny of bills cleared by senior officials now comes under question, with suspicions of deliberate manipulation.
Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) had received a grant of ₹11.9 crore from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in order to strengthen the Sandpani Battalion in the Lakshminagar zone. The project was initiated with the tendering process in 2016 and subsequent orders for the new Sandpani Battalion and other related works were issued in 2017. Pune-based private firm Pressstrass Private Limited was assigned the task. Despite not executing the contracted works, the firm had received a payment of ₹11.9 crore.
Formal Complaint to Municipal Commissioner:
In the wake of these revelations, two engineers involved in the project were suspended. However, the scope of the investigation is expected to widen, with indications of possible higher-level involvement. Consequently, a formal letter has been sent to the Municipal Commissioner, urging a thorough inquiry into the matter. Sandeep Joshi, Chief Secretary of the state, has requested Municipal Commissioner Dr. Abhijit Chaudhari to ensure a comprehensive probe and take stringent actions against any individuals, including contractors, who might be associated with this alleged manipulation.
