UK : UKD alleges multi-crore scam in PMGSY tenders in Haldwani; demands inquiry

• Neeraj Bisht alleges a tender scam worth approximately ₹200 crore;
• Demands cancellation of all suspicious tenders, holds press conference in Haldwani; warns of protests if no action is taken within a week
• Accuses two officials of collusion; both are natives of Gorakhpur and currently reside in Khatima

Haldwani: During a press conference held on Friday at the UKD office on Phulchaur Road, Neeraj Bisht—Central President of the Uttarakhand Student Federation (USF), the student wing of UKD—revealed details of an alleged PMGSY tender scam worth approximately ₹200 crore, citing documentary evidence.

At the press conference, Bisht alleged collusion between Secretariat official Dinesh Yadav (accused of leaking tender-related slips) and URRDA official Sanjay Kumar Pathak in this matter. He stated that available documents reveal serious irregularities in the tendering process. He noted that the court had already declared documents related to contractor Ganga Prasad Punetha invalid—a ruling that had previously led to the cancellation of one tender. Despite this, contractor Ganga Prasad Punetha is still being shown as eligible for nine other tenders. It is alleged that the contractor’s documents submitted to the department are fraudulent. Bisht argued that since the court has invalidated documents related to this contractor, an impartial investigation into other tenders linked to him is essential. He demanded a high-level inquiry into the entire matter.
According to Bisht, his key demands are as follows:
1. Immediate cancellation of all suspicious tenders related to Ganga Prasad Punetha.
2. An impartial, high-level inquiry into the entire matter.
3. Investigation into the use of fraudulent documents and legal action against those found guilty. 4. The roles of officials allegedly involved in the scam should be investigated; if found guilty, they should be blacklisted and face departmental action.
5. Transparency must be ensured by making the entire tendering process public.
Neeraj Bisht warned, “No irregularities will be tolerated in development works funded by public money. An impartial investigation into the facts revealed by the documents will bring the truth of the entire matter to light. We demand the immediate cancellation of all suspicious tenders and strict action against the guilty.”

This press conference was organized by the Uttarakhand Student Federation (USF). Attendees included UKD Youth District President Kuldeep Bohra, UKD Youth District Secretary Ganga Singh Mehra, and other office bearers and activists. Also present were Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) Nainital President Pratap Chauhan, Vice President Mohan Negi, Scheduled Caste Cell President Ravi Valmiki, District General Secretary (Nainital) Uttam Bisht, Central Organization Secretary Bhuvan Bisht, Ranikhet Assembly In-charge Shyam Singh Negi, District General Secretary (Nainital) Pramod Sati, Human Rights Protection Campaign Convener Yatish Pant, and Human Rights Defender (Uttarakhand) Bachi Singh Bisht, among others.