RCF: Despite providing comprehensive details about the Primer Scam, no action has been taken against those involved

Question arises as to whether the concerned officials who settled tender no. 14221137 on higher rates correct who passed over M/s Deb Paints. Kolkata or the officials who settled tender no. 14231044 in lower rates were correct who put order in favour of M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata?

Railwhispers.com recently published an article, “Multi-crore primer supply scam going on at RCF, Kapurthala under the patronage of management!” on June 30, 2023 wherein the scam going under the patronage of RCF Management was exposed, wherein 03 out of 04 firms were being regularly harassed by rejecting their materials (#Primer) supplied at the hands of #Vigilance, #quality, #workshop, #design departments of Rail Coach Factory (#RCF), Kapurthala under the patronage of RCF management.

Therefore, the performance of M/s #DebPaints, Kolkata went poor, because of forceful rejection by #Vigilance audit and not sending the same to 3rd lab as per decision of Joint inspection. Also, no supplies have been made by M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata till date since #rejection issued on 13.09.2022 vide rejection memo no. 80220179 and no supplies have been made by M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata until the #settlement of the #tender case no. 14221137 & 14231044.

Due to this portrayed poor performance (at the hands of #Vigilance, #quality, #workshop, #design departments of RCF under the patronage of RCF management of M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata, tender no. 14221137 (Table-1) opened on 28.11.2022, M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata was passed over and not allowed to participate in reverse auction and was passed over although being L-1 (i.e. the lowest bidder) and purchase order was issued in favour of-

• M/s GS Industries, Jalandhar for 75% quantity (30903 liter) @ 319.78 INR per liter vide PO no. 14221137100635 Dtd. 07.04.2023 and
• M/s Vibgyor Paints and chemicals, Pondicherry for 25% quantity (10967 liter) @ 319.78 INR per liter vide PO no. 14221137100636 Dtd. 07.04.2023.

After the report of #primer_scam was published in #Railwhispers it is found that a latest tender (tender no. 14231044) has been settled in favour of-

It is pertinent to mention that the article published by #Railwhispers has saved public money to the tune of ₹20 lakhs immediately (considering the order placed quantity). Further it is pertinent to mention that the annual consumption of the item is around 200000 liter and if that is considered, then ₹40 lakhs is saved which was being siphoned off into the pockets of all concerned officials as kickback from M/s #GSIndustries, Jalandhar in the garb of bolstering their monopoly. Table-3 clearly states how rates went down from ₹340/- to ₹297/- per litre.

Tender No: 14221137
Closing Date/Time: 28/11/2022 14:30
Evaluation Criteria: Item Wise
Total Value: 58011514.00
Closing Date/Time (Fin.): 16/02/2023 17:00
Fin. Bids Opening Witnessed By: LAKHPAT SINGH CHOUDHARY CMM/E
Actual Opening (Fin.): 16/02/2023 18:49
Fin. Bids Opened By: DILBAGH SINGH DMS/TA-P14

Tender No: 14231044
Closing Date/Time: 26/05/2023 14:30
Evaluation Criteria: Item Wise Consignee Wise
Total Value: 29789041.59

After settlement of the case by the concerned officials following needs thorough investigation;

1. When it was a proven fact that M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata was a failure firm since no supplies have been accepted before settlement of the tender no. 14221137 & 14231044 and rejection memo no. 80220179 Dtd. 13/09/2022 already in place;

• M/s Deb paints, Kolkata was passed over in tender no. 14221137
• While order was placed in favour of M/s Deb paints, Kolkata in tender no. 14231044 settled after the above mentioned tender

Question arises as to whether the concerned officials who settled tender no. 14221137 (Lakhpat Singh Chaudhary, CMM/E and party) on higher rates correct who passed over M/s Deb Paints. Kolkata or the officials who settled tender no. 14231044 (Rajiv Singh, DyCMM/G and party) in lower rates were correct who put order in favour of M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata?

2. Why was M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata, despite being the lowest bidder (L-1), passed over and not allowed to participate in the #reverse_auction for #tender no. 14221137? Who made this decision, and what were their justifications?
3. Why was M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata, not passed over for tender no. 14231044, when it was a failure firm? Who made this decision, and what were their justifications?
4. How come after the publishing of the report on #Railwhispers, the rates of the same item (i.e. Primer) went down from ₹319.78 to ₹297.36 (even lesser than #MCF rates) in just a span of 03 months?
5. Why were the tender Committee decision reversed on files for settlement of tender no. 14231044 after publishing of the article on railwhispers.com?
6. Who shall be held responsible for the loss of public money at the hands of #BlackSheeps to the tune of approximately 01 crore for the orders put in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24. Whether it is #GM or #CVO or #CMM/E or #CQM or #CWE/Fur? Who were the real beneficiaries of the said amount? How much money was siphoned off to all concerned officials of RCF?
7. If the latest order put by the officials at ₹297.36 (under tender no. 14231044) is considered a reasonable and acceptable rate as per the prevailing market conditions, then it means that the officials of #RCF have accepted that the rejection made in favour of M/s Deb Paints, Kolkata was a fabricated rejection at the hands of #Vigilance/RCF (Ravindra Kumar Verma, CVO/RCF; Vinod Kumar Bazad, DyCVO & Arvind Kumar Tripathi, CVI) which is a matter of grave concern and of utmost importance and needs thorough investigation regarding the amount of siphoned money to CVO/RCF, DyCVO/RCF and CVI/RCF.
8. Also, it is learnt that a pre-inspected #Paint sample supplied by M/s GS Industries, Jalandhar was recently taken in quality audit and was rejected due to various non-conformities in the item. Why was recent #primer supply made on 27/07/2023 for 12903 liter (worth 40 lakh, Rnote no. 8023102649) made by M/s GS Industries, Jalandhar not taken in any audit again (vigilance audit, quality audit etc).
9. Why was #DP not extended for M/s Deb paints, Kolkata for P.O.No.14221043100965 dtd.25.05.22 inspite of repeated requests by the firm in writing before settlement of tender no. 14231137 and 14231044? Why was the firm discouraged to make supplies on account of failed DP and material urgently required?
10. Why one of the erring official #Lakhpat Singh Chaudhary, #CMM/E being shunted to Western Railway orders for which have been issued recently instead of taking action against him when he was involved in major embezzlement and misuse of official position. Also, it is learnt that Lakhpat Singh Chaudhary, CMM/E is a Joint Secretary empanelled officer since 02 years. Still the officer is continuing in RCF, Kapurthala while his batchmates are already serving as Joint Secretary in GOI. Question also arises whether such black sheeps should be empanelled as Joint secretary to GOI.

Mr #LakhpatSinghChaudhary, #CMM/E at #RCF, #Kapurthala is mainly a corrupt officer who has sole aim of extorting money from the firms in the name of DP Extension, Tender settlement etc. In the recent guidelines issued by the Ministry of Railways under “Vivaad se Vishwas”, Mr Chaudhary has extorted crores of rupees from the various #vendors in the name of Liquidated Damages, Risk Purchase & EMD refund, said reliable sources.

Sources also say, “due to his above mentioned acts of garnering illicit money from various firms, shameless Chaudhary has not gone for any assignment as Joint Secretary (#JS) in Government of India.”

Last but not the least it is disheartening to reveal that despite providing comprehensive details about the #primer_scam to the relevant authorities, no action has been taken against those involved. Also, no action has been initiated against the Mechanical officers lobby for the embezzlement, which clearly proves that higher authorities are hand in cuff with all the stakeholders in bolstering the monopoly of a particular firm and money was being siphoned-off into their pockets.

This article aims to serve as a wake-up call to the concerned authorities, urging them to initiate appropriate measures against the corrupt officers of RCF, Kapurthala. These officers prioritize their personal gains over the nation’s welfare and misuse the administrative powers entrusted to them by the People of India. To continue..

Input given by: RCF officials

Compiled & Edited by: Suresh Tripathi