Chandigarh: Officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched the offices of four manpower service providers in Chandigarh following complaints of large-scale irregularities in the recruitment and salary payments of outsourced employees working in the Chandigarh administration and educational institutions.CBI teams visited offices in Sector 34, Dadumajra and Manimajra, where they examined records related to tenders, recruitment and salary payments. The agency also searched the residences of firm operators but has not confirmed any scam. The alleged involvement of officials has not been established.The searches followed a complaint filed by the education department’s Group-D Employees’ Union with the CBI’s anti-corruption branch. The union alleged that nearly 70% of manpower supply contracts were being awarded to firms linked to one family.The four agencies whose premises were searched provide outsourced manpower, including Group C and Group D employees, to various Chandigarh administration departments and institutions.According to the complaint, around 30,000 employees are associated with the four groups. The investigation is expected to examine govt tender allocations, recruitment records, salary disbursements and other financial documents to determine whether prescribed procedures were followed.The complaint alleges that these firms have received a disproportionately large share of manpower supply contracts awarded by the administration.It also raises questions about the tendering process, alleging that objections to contract allocations were brushed aside by citing procedures on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.The UT employees’ union has sought a detailed probe into outsourcing tenders issued by several govt departments and institutions, including Govt College for Men in Sector 11, Post Graduate Govt College in Sector 46, Burail Jail, Chandigarh College of Engineering and Technology, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh Housing Board and the sports department.The complaint has flagged the possibility of financial losses to the govt exchequer due to alleged irregularities in tender allocation, recruitment and salary payments.The CBI is examining how the contracts were awarded, whether other eligible firms were given a fair opportunity to participate and whether any officials played a role in the alleged irregularities.
