Babulal Marandi Demands Probe Into Alleged School Uniform Scam In Jharkhand

Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi on Wednesday shot off a letter to state Chief Secretary L Khiangte demanding a probe into an alleged scam in the purchase of school uniforms in Hazaribag district. He also demanded strict action against those found guilty.

Marandi, a former chief minister of the state, alleged in the letter that against the set criteria for purchasing dresses, sweaters, shoes and socks for children from classes 1 to 8, the Hazaribag district superintendent of education (DSE) in August this year gave the order to a non-governmental organisation from another district without floating a tender or publishing it in local newspapers. “It was a violation of the rule. The quality of supplied sweaters and dresses was so bad that they started tearing (off) within a week,” Marandi said in the letter.

Issue raised during winter session of assembly

He said that the Hazaribag Sadar MLA (Manish Jaiswal) had raised the issue during the winter session of the Jharkhand Assembly. Marandi further mentioned that the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) had given a clear-cut guideline that if a self-help group (SHG) operating in the district could not deliver the order within the given deadline, the money for uniforms could be transferred to bank accounts of the beneficiaries through direct-benefit-transfer (DBT).

“But for the sake of commission, the Hazaribagh DSE ignored the rules and regulations and ordered the supply of clothes to its favourite self-help group and withdrew a total of Rs 12 crore,” he said in the letter. He urged the chief secretary to set up a probe team for the matter and ensure strict action against the guilty officials.