LUCKNOW, July 26 -- The Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment has registered a corruption case against five irrigation department engineers and a private contractor for allegedly causing a Rs.16.69 crore loss to the state exchequer by approving inflated rates for dewatering work and extending undue financial benefits to the contractor through a criminal conspiracy.

The first information report (FIR), lodged at the Vigilance Establishment police station in Lucknow on Friday, names then superintending engineer Kaushal Kumar, assistant engineers Sanjay Kumar, Yashwant Singh and Manoj Kumar Agrawal, junior engineer Sukhbir Singh, and contractor Rajbir Singh of Muzaffarnagar.

According to the FIR, the accused allegedly approved dewatering ch...