STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: RTI Activist, Bavinder Singh has stated that one of the reply received under RTI, made shocking revelations with regard to the allotment of “install, operate and maintain the 32, IT based Parking management system for Jammu City”.
Addressing the press conference, Singh said that to avoid the participation of local parking contractors in the bidding process for the said parking tender some senior JKUT official intentionally added such conditions to accommodate the contractors from outside the JKUT.
Balvinder further said that none of the conditions which were incorporated in the tenders are implemented by the contractor Baba Infra Tech in a joint venture with SD Enterprises & Green Mobility Collaborative Pvt. Ltd, like. Payments are tied to a Vehicle registration number, send SMS text message to customers, link to vaahan, mobile phone devices loaded with Automatic Number Plate recognition features.
To issue prepaid parking cards/coupons, opening of kiosks for selling coupons, insurance of every site, to install fire extinguisher, to appoint qualified staff like Diploma or Degree in any Technical or Management field one Person, Post-Graduate Degree in Management one person, Graduate or Post Graduate Degree in Computer Science or Information Technology One Person, Senior Secondary Pass or Graduate four persons etc.
Singh further stated that prior to this tender JMC was getting Rs 19 lakh PA from two parking slots namely Residency Road parking amounting to Rs 11 Lac per annum and Rs 8 Lacs from Ragunath Bazar Parking slot but know the JMC official clubbed 32 parking Slots and allotted to above mentioned Contractor Baba Infra Tech, with a deep rooted conspiracy to deceive the state exchequer drafted a very well planned Contract Agreement for the revenue sharing whereby it is mentioned that Contractor shall get 96% and JMC will get only 4% in the first year, 94% / 6% in the 2nd year, 90/10% in the 3rd year, 87% /13% in the 4rth year, 80% /20% in the 5th year and 75% /25% in the 6th year. And JMC which was getting approximately rs 19 lakh Per Annum from only two above mentioned parking sites now got only Rs. 108700 even after the making 10 parking slots functional for the contractor.
Balvinder said that when the said issue was raised in the General House Meeting, of JMC by different corporators in the month of December 2022, then Mayor JMC constituted a panel to probe into the allegation by involving three BJP Corporators, One Congress and One Independent corporator and two retired Official including Retd Chief Engineer Dinesh Ram Paul and Yash Paul Chief Accounts Officer Retd Chief Accounts officer but when after passing of more than two months when I contacted the retd Chief Engineer to know the status of the inquiry, it was shocked to know that till date none of the officer were asked to start the inquiry. It proves that the inquiry ordered by the Mayor was any eye wash resulting the inquiry didn’t see the light of the day.
Singh urged upon Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to kindly look into the matter and keeping in view of the nature of the Contract agreement and loss to the State exchequer inquiry may be handed over to CBI and the official responsible for their deliberate negligence are held responsible in the public interest.
Other civil society members present in the press conference were Manmohan Singh, Anil Kumar and Mahesh Kotwal.