Ludhiana: I-T officials seek MC record of payments to road contractors
Officials said the aim is to ensure that all transactions made by the civic body are transparent and that the contractors have complied with income tax laws
Income tax (I-T) officials have sought information from the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) regarding the road construction contracts awarded to contractors, including the record of payments released to them and also details about the ongoing and completed projects. Officials said the aim is to ensure that all transactions made by the civic body are transparent and that the contractors have complied with income tax laws. The department will verify whether or not the tax deductions at source (TDS) were properly made before releasing payments and if contractors have correctly declared their income from government projects.
In an official communication issued by Deepinder Kaur, deputy director of income tax (investigation)-2, Ludhiana, the department directed the MC to provide a full record of contractors working under its building and roads (B&R) branch. The letter, dated October 23, was addressed to superintending engineer (B&R), Sham Lal Gupta, at the Zone-D office in Sarabha Nagar.
The department has sought a range of details, including the names of the contractors who received tenders for road construction, the funds allotted to them and documents related to each project, such as PAN, Aadhaar, bank account details and tender papers. The I-T officials have also asked the civic body to provide the list of blacklisted contractors and the final investigation report prepared by any internal committee formed to verify the genuineness of contractors’ work.
The latest communication follows an earlier letter dated July 10, 2025, which was sent by the income tax department to municipal commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal. That letter had sought similar information regarding tenders, payments and blacklisted firms, but reportedly did not receive a full response from the MC.
An official from the MC confirmed the receipt of the fresh notice and said that relevant documents are being compiled. “The B&R branch has been instructed to provide all details to the income tax department by October 30, as directed,” the official said.
Over the past two years, the MC has awarded several projects worth crores of rupees under its road development and repair plans. The income tax department’s move comes amid growing concerns about the transparency and quality of civic works in the city, where several road projects have faced criticism for delays and poor execution.
