Shimla: Just a few days before his alleged suicide last year, Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) chief engineer Vimal Negi was driven to a "psychological breaking point" after an audit report flagged an undue favor of Rs 12.73 crore to a contractor of the Pekhubela solar power plant in Una district, according to a CBI probe. The agency alleged the favor was granted under pressure from managing director Harikesh Meena (IAS) and director (electrical) Desh Raj.
Negi went missing from Shimla on March 10 last year, and his body was recovered on March 18 from the Satluj river in Bilaspur. A chargesheet, filed before the special CBI court in Shimla on March 31, mentions a payment of Rs 16.29 crore was released in August 2024 to the contractor "at the instance of Meena and Raj even when the project was not complete." A senior audit officer's report on February 25, 2025, observed that the management had failed to protect its interest. Citing "ambiguity" in the contract provisions, the management paid Rs 16.29 crore to the contractor "without finalisation of the extension of time (EOT) and levying of liquidated damages (LD)." While the project authority had proposed an LD of Rs 12.73 crore based on delay analysis, the chargesheet said, "This early release of payment without LD is tantamount to undue favour to the contractor to the tune of Rs 12.73 crore."
Controversial Pekhubela Project
The 32-megawatt (MW) project worth Rs 220 crore on 49-hectare land was awarded to an Ahmedabad-based company on May 19, 2023. Slated to be completed on November 14, 2023, the project was granted five provisional extensions but remained incomplete as of April 15, 2024, according to the CBI, which took over the probe into Negi's death on May 23, 2025, following directions from the high court. The agency informed the court that "Meena and Desh Raj entered into a criminal conspiracy for favouring the contractor," compelling subordinate officers to submit "favourable proposals." Meena, a 2012-batch IAS officer, moved to central deputation in March this year as director in the Union ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship. Desh Raj serves as chief engineer in the state electricity board since his post-suspension reinstatement in July 2025. Both officers are currently out on bail.
Administrative Victimisation
The CBI probe highlights a pattern of coercion beginning on June 12, 2024, during a review meeting led by Desh Raj. He allegedly ordered Mohinder Kumar Chopra, GE(M), to release a 10% payment for "Milestone-04" despite work being incomplete. When Chopra refused, Meena directed the withdrawal of solar project supervision from him, handing the responsibility to Negi on June 15. The CBI said this replacement was intended to facilitate "illegal benefit to the contractor." On June 20, 2024, the day Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu dedicated the project, Meena and Raj allegedly shouted at Negi and engineer Bipan Guleria for withholding payment. "Under pressure, Negi advised Guleria to comply with management's instructions even if they were against the rules," the CBI said. Consequently, Guleria issued a completion certificate on June 20, backdated to April 15, while work was still pending.
