Graft charges rock MCM setup, prompts probe order by Hry CM

Amid allegations of bribery, harassment and financial misconduct against top officials of the Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM), Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini has ordered a formal inquiry into the matter. The action follows a complaint submitted by Shishpal Singh Rana, contractor of Akanksha Enterprises, who has accused senior MCM officers — including commissioner Renu Sogan — of extortion, late payments, and coercive penalties.

Commissioner Renu Sogan was transferred late Monday night and posted as additional secretary in the Haryana Government’s grievances department. Two other officials were also moved: Hitesh Kumar Meena, additional deputy commissioner-cum-district citizen resources information officer, Gurugram, was appointed additional CEO, Haryana Kisan Kalyan Pradhikaran; and Virender Chaudhary, managing director of Cooperative Sugar Mills, Shahbad, was posted as joint secretary, fisheries department.

Officials familiar with the matter said these transfers are part of an administrative shake-up. Rana’s company had secured a ₹105 crore contract in February 2023 for road sweeping, drain cleaning and bush uprooting across Manesar. In his complaint, Rana alleged that payments were deliberately withheld and arbitrary fines were levied after he refused to pay bribes to civic officials. “This penalty is nothing but retaliation because I refused to succumb to illegal demands. It’s a classic cover-up to protect corrupt officials,” Rana told HT.

A day after the complaint reached the chief minister’s Office, the MCM issued a press note justifying a ₹4.5 crore penalty imposed on the agency. Civic officials claimed that Akanksha Enterprises consistently failed to deploy the agreed workforce despite drawing an average monthly payment of ₹4.3 crore. Field inspections reportedly revealed that only a quarter of the 1,997 workers billed were present on the ground between 2023 and December 2024.

Officials further alleged that the firm falsified records related to the use of tractor-mounted sweeping machines, adversely impacting sanitation in newly merged areas. Commissioner Renu Sogan, citing reports uploaded on the SWM portal, said: “All actions are backed by verifiable data, monitored at multiple levels. No official can manipulate portal entries, and the documentation has been submitted to headquarters.”

Sogan added that the penalty was imposed under Clause 17 of the contract agreement, which pertains to liquidated damages due to non-compliance.

Rana, however, denied all charges, claiming the discrepancies cited by the Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) were fabricated to punish him for exposing internal corruption. “Even field reports admitted fluctuation in deployment, yet only selective data was used to target us,” he said, alleging that outdated photographs were submitted as evidence and official sanitation records were deliberately ignored. Rana maintained that he possessed documentary proof, including ESIC challans, salary registers, and email correspondence with MCM officials, to counter the allegations.

Meanwhile, all future payments to Akanksha Enterprises have been frozen pending the outcome of a formal inquiry. Senior MCM officials said that all dues cleared before the complaint have already been paid.

Sanitation workers employed by the agency, many of whom have not received salaries in weeks, protested outside the MCM office in Sector 8 earlier this week.