The district unit of Janata Dal (United) has urged the State government to suspend Gulbarga Mahanagara Palike (GMP) commissioner and eight engineers for alleged irregularities in works involving crores of rupees under the Chief Minister’s Package and State Finance Commission (SFC) funds.

Making this demand at a press conference here on Monday JD(U) district unit working president Dr Raju Kulageri said a prima facie case has been found on the allegations of financial irregularities in works taken up at a cost of Rs 5.12 crore. He demanded recovery of money from the commissioner and eight engineers and blacklisting of contractors of these works. Since the irregularities took place during the tenure of previous deputy commissioner Anjum Perwez, action should also be taken against him, he added.

Dr Kulageri said that a third party had audited the works executed by the city corporation and found the works to be sub-standard. The audit team will submit its report to the deputy commissioner very shortly.

The JD(U) leader maintained that out of a total of Rs 14.75 crore works taken up in the city, a minimum of Rs 9 crore has been involved in irregularities and there were no documents at all on works taken up at a cost of Rs 3.25 crore. In all 105 roads, four footpaths and 22 compound walls for gardens have been built and the quality of 90 per cent works has been found to be sub-standard. Another 16 works existed only on paper. Though money has been spent fully on works the contractors have not been paid fully. He complained that one of the engineers of the corporation did not co-operate with the third party audit team.

Dr Kulageri informed that 22 compound walls were built without calling for tenders and four of them had already collapsed. He wanted the authorities concerned to take cognisance of large scale irregularities and initiate action against all concerned.