The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a chargesheet alleging that tenders exceeding Rs 979 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission were secured using forged documents and fabricated work-completion certificates. The chargesheet was submitted on Thursday against retired IAS officer and former additional chief secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Subodh Agrawal, who was arrested on April 9.
Details of the Chargesheet
The 17,500-page chargesheet was presented before ACB Court No. 1 in Jaipur. Investigators have alleged large-scale financial irregularities and corruption carried out in collusion with certain PHED officials and private individuals. According to the probe, then PHED minister Mahesh Joshi, Agrawal, departmental officials, contractors, and private individual Sanjay Baraya allegedly conspired to introduce a mandatory site-visit certificate requirement in tenders for major projects valued at more than Rs 50 crore, violating established norms.
Evidence of Corruption
The probe found evidence of abuse of official position and large-scale corruption in tenders worth nearly Rs 20,000 crore. The ACB claimed this was part of an attempt to inflict significant financial losses on the state exchequer. The condition exposed bidder identities, facilitated tender pooling, and resulted in abnormally high bid premiums ranging from 30% to 40%. Investigators said the evidence collected points to widespread corruption in the award of tenders.
The chargesheet further states that tender conditions contrary to prescribed rules were inserted in several projects to influence competition, compromise fairness, and potentially cause substantial financial loss to the state exchequer.
Role of Firms and Officials
The chargesheet also alleges that two firms — Shri Ganpati Tubewell, run by Mahesh Mittal, and Shri Shyam Tubewell, run by Padamchand Jain — forged certificates purportedly issued by IRCON International Ltd and submitted fake work-completion documents in multiple PHED tenders to secure eligibility. According to the chargesheet, Agrawal allegedly received a report regarding the forged IRCON certificates on his official email but failed to take any action.
Officials said the SIT also examined discrepancies in tender applications that allegedly enabled the firms to qualify despite irregularities. The chargesheet further details the role of Vishal Saxena, then an executive engineer, who was tasked with verifying a certificate submitted by Shri Ganpati Tubewell. Saxena allegedly told investigators that PHED officials directed him to submit a favourable verification report, which became the basis for the firm to clear scrutiny and secure tenders worth several crores.
Investigation Status
ACB director general Govind Gupta said the bureau had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) headed by DIG Rameshwar Singh to investigate the case. The investigation against Joshi, Baraya, and several other individuals is kept pending.
