Madhya Pradesh: Shahdol Panchayati's 1-Hour Binge Sparks Probe

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): It took just one hour for panchayat officials in Shahdol district to chew through 14 kilogrammes of dry fruits, gulp down tea loaded with 5 kilogrammes of sugar and 6 litres of milk all at a government event meant for water conservation.

The lavish spread was part of the Ganga Jal Samvardhan Abhiyan held on May 25 at Bhadwahigram panchayat.

While villagers were served plain khichdi, top officials including Collector Kedar Singh, District Panchayat CEO Narendra Singh and SDM Pragati Verma were treated to premium snacks at tax payers expense.

The total bill, A sweet Rs 19,010 for a meeting that wrapped up in just 60 minutes. The incident exploded online after bills from the programme went viral on social media on Thursday, prompting an embarrassed administration to act.

Collector Kedar Singh, who attended briefly before leaving, told Free Press he was unaware of the indulgence and has ordered an enquiry into the matter. SDM and other officials have been asked to file a report.

Paint scam: 658 workers for 24 litres

Shahdol district was already in the spotlight after an education department scam surfaced recently.

Records showed 443 labourers and 215 masons were allegedly hired to paint just two government schools using only 24 litres of paintóworth Rs 4,704. Yet, Rs 3.38 lakh was paid for the job.

The fraud took place in Beohari, and came to light after documents detailing the inflated expenses were leaked.