PWD Rejects Claims of Funding Private Event of Deputy CM Arun Sao

TFP Bureau, Raipur, November 8, 2025. The Public Works Department (PWD) has strongly refuted social-media claims alleging that it funded a private family event of Deputy Chief Minister and Public Works Minister Arun Sao, calling the information “baseless and misleading.” The department clarified that no payment has been made for any private programme of the Deputy Chief Minister and that none of the bills circulating online appear in the official records provided under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Executive Engineer of the Bemetara Division, D.K. Chandel, issued a detailed clarification, stating that the information circulating online bears no connection with any bill or payment made by the department. He said that RTI information supplied to applicant Abdul Wahid Rawani on August 28, 2025, via letter No. 4630/RTI/25, pertained exclusively to tent and marquee payments for officially sanctioned VIP programmes in the Bemetara division.

According to the RTI disclosure, Rawani had sought details of payments totalling Rs. 3.97 crore made on June 18, 2025, to three vendors—Guru Nanak Tent House & Caterers, Gurudev Tent House & Caterers, and Khalsa Tent Catering & Light—along with related vouchers and documentation for official events. Chandel emphasised that none of this information references any private event, and none of the bills being circulated on social media appear in the department’s records.

The PWD released a detailed list of official programmes for which payments were made, including:

1. Rs. 1.76 crore for tent and pandal arrangements during the Chief Minister’s three-day programme in Nawagarh (December 19–21, 2024).
2. Rs. 71.16 lakh for the Chief Minister’s programme in Juni Sarovar (January 25, 2024).
3. Rs. 17.99 lakh for the Minister’s programme in Andhiyarkhor (July 4, 2024).
4. Rs. 11.88 lakh for arrangements for the Viksit Bharat programme in Bemetara Mandi Complex (February 24, 2024).
5. Rs. 10.11 lakh for the Minister’s programme in Sambalpur (January 14, 2025).
6. Rs. 33.29 lakh for lighting, sound and LED arrangements across multiple approved programmes between June 2024 and October 2025, including Sindhouri virtual events, Tribal Pride Day, Panthi competitions, inauguration ceremonies and market-complex events.
7. Rs. 14.13 lakh for the Viksit Bharat event at Nawagarh bus stand (February 24, 2024).
8. Rs. 14.24 lakh for the virtual inauguration of the Bemetara Court Complex (June 28, 2024).
9. Rs. 3.67 lakh for the Minister’s programme in Dadhi (January 14, 2025).
10. Rs. 14.21 lakh for Republic Day arrangements at the Basic Ground, Bemetara (January 26, 2025).
11. Rs. 13.39 lakh for State Festival arrangements at the Basic School Ground (November 5, 2024).
12. Rs. 16.77 lakh for Independence Day arrangements at the Basic School Ground (August 15, 2024).

The department reiterated that none of these sanctioned payments relate to any event dated August 9, 2024—the date referenced in the misleading claims.

According to the PWD, detailed measurement books, bills, photographs and videography records for all programmes are available in official files. All payments were approved strictly as per rules: sanction orders for the listed programmes were issued by former Executive Engineer Nirmal Singh Thakur, while payments were executed by the present Executive Engineer, D.K. Chandel. All works were carried out by junior engineers and sub-divisional officers.

The department stated unequivocally that no payment was ever made for any private event of the Deputy Chief Minister and warned that appropriate legal action will be initiated against individuals circulating false information.