Jaipur: Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVVNL) suspended assistant engineer (AEN) Tapendra Budiya on June 12 following a technical audit and a joint investigation into alleged irregularities in RDSS infrastructure works and billing.The suspension order cited serious discrepancies detected during physical verification and audit of projects executed under the Centre-sponsored Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). It stated that bills were cleared for works that did not conform to contractual specifications.The action comes in the wake of a controversy over the collapse of more than 100 electricity towers and poles during a recent dust storm in Nagaur district, raising questions over the quality of execution and supervision of the project.The collapsed structures were part of a 24-km rural power line being laid between Kharnal, Bhakrod, Sinod and Lalap villages in Nagaur. Preliminary findings indicated that several towers and poles gave way because the contractor allegedly failed to construct the mandatory reinforced concrete foundations prescribed under approved technical specifications.The project, estimated to cost around Rs 45 lakh, involves the installation of 186 towers and nearly 200 poles. Technical norms require each tower to be supported by a concrete foundation measuring approximately four feet by four feet and six feet deep. However, inspections carried out after the collapse reportedly found that many of the fallen structures lacked such foundations.Sources associated with the probe alleged that the contractor directly embedded the towers into the ground to cut construction costs.
