JAMMU, APRIL 21: Following allegations of corruption by former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, the Central Bureau of Investigations on Thursday registered two separate cases against various private companies including Reliance General Insurance , besides several top functionaries of the Chenab Valley Power Projects (Pvt) Ltd, which is a joint venture of Government of India’s NHPC and J&K Government’s State Power Development Corporation.
The first case was registered former chairman of the CVPPPL Navin Choudhary, former MD M S Babu and former Directors M K Mittal and Arun Kumar Mishra, besides Mumbai based M/s Patel Engineering Limited for alleged irregularities into the allotment of a Rs 2200 crore contract for carrying out civil works of the 624 MW Kiru Hydroelectric Project in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Navin Choudhary, at present, is J&K’s Principal Secretary Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare.
According to CBI, the accused in one case are M/s Trinity Reinsurance Brokers Limited, M/s Reliance General Insurance Company Limited and in the other, former chairman Navin Choudhary, former Managing Director M S Babu and former Directors M K Mittal and Arun Kumar Mishra, besides M/s Patel Engineering Limited and unknown others. Apart from them, the investigating agency has also booked “ unknown public servant(s) and private person(s)’’ in both the cases.
Navin Choudhary is, at present, principal secretary Agriculture Production and Farmers Welfare in the J&K Government.
CVPPPL is a joint venture company of Government of India’s NHPC and J&K Government’s State Power Development Corporation.
CBI also conducted searches at the premises of the accused at 14 locations in Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, Trivandrum (Kerala), Darbhanga (Bihar). The investigations are in progress.
According to it, CVPPPL at its Board meeting in June 2019 decided to re-tender all major works through e-tendering process. However, it reversed the decision at another board meeting in August the same year and allotted the nearly Rs 2200 crore contract to the Mumbai based M/s Patel Engineering Ltd.
The other case pertains to the J&K Group Mediclaim Insurance Policy for Employees and Pensioners which was cancelled by the then State Governor Satya Pal Malik in October 2018 as the tender was invited by a private company Trinity Group and not the government. The contract for providing insurance to 3.5 lakh regular employees of the state was awarded to Reliance General lnsurance Company Ltd., with annual premium for employees and for pensioners at Rs 8,777 and Rs 22,229, respectively. It was mandatory for all state government employees – gazetted and non-gazetted, state universities, commissions, autonomous bodies and PSUs to subscribe to the policy.
The cases were registered by CBI at the request of J&K government after Satya Pal Malik who is, at present, Governor of Meghalaya said at a function in Rajasthan last year that he was offered Rs 300 crore bribe to clear two files including one relating to a RSS leader when he was Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
