The Punjab Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday arrested former chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) K D Chaudhary, retired senior executive engineer Sanjeev Prabhakar, and Ludhiana-based builder Amit Garg in connection with alleged irregularities in the installation of a 66 KV electricity substation in Basant Avenue colony over a decade ago.

The arrests were made by the Economic Offences Wing of the Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana, in a case linked to alleged financial loss caused to PSPCL during the installation of the 66 KV Basant Avenue substation in 2014-15.

According to Vigilance Bureau officials, the case emerged from a vigilance inquiry dated May 10, 2021, following which an FIR was registered this year.

An official spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau said the coloniser of Basant Avenue, allegedly in collusion with concerned PSPCL field officers, got the 66 KV substation installed inside the private colony at government expense instead of bearing the cost himself, as required under applicable norms and electricity guidelines.

Sources in the Vigilance Bureau claimed that the installation of the substation had cost nearly Rs 10 crore and alleged that the expenditure was incurred by PSPCL despite the infrastructure primarily benefiting the private colony.

The Vigilance Bureau further alleged that if the electricity load of interconnected colonies developed by the same coloniser had been assessed collectively and proper verification of no-objection certificates (NOCs) carried out, the entire expenditure for the substation could have been recovered from the builder.

Officials also alleged that guidelines issued by the Ministry of Power regarding the installation of substations were not properly followed.

According to the Vigilance Bureau, the substation is located around 3 km from Pakhowal Link Road in an underdeveloped area surrounded by fields, and even now lacks a proper paved road approach. The agency alleged that these shortcomings were neither highlighted in the original proposal nor reflected in subsequent office notings before approval was granted.

The proposal related to the substation was allegedly forwarded by then XEN Sanjeev Prabhakar and approved by then CMD K D Chaudhary despite objections and deficiencies, the Vigilance Bureau claimed.

Basant Avenue, though considered a posh private colony in Ludhiana, falls under rural panchayat jurisdiction and remains outside the municipal corporation limits.

Meanwhile, members of the Punjab State Electricity Board Engineers Association reached Ludhiana from different parts of the state to express solidarity with Chaudhary.

Ajaypal Singh Atwal, general secretary of the association, said, “We are not much aware of the details of the case but we are concerned about the age of Chaudhary Saab as he is 75 years old now. We only know that it is a 12-year-old case.”

Chaudhary was the first CMD of PSPCL and had resigned in March 2017 after the Congress government came to power in Punjab.

The arrests also triggered discussions within PSPCL circles, with some employees informally claiming that the revival of the old case could be politically linked and aimed at diverting attention from developments surrounding the arrest of Punjab Power Minister Sanjeev Arora.

The alleged irregularities pertain to the period when the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance government was in power in Punjab.

The Vigilance Bureau said further investigation in the case is ongoing.