BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): Congress accused ruling BJP government of misusing the funds sanctioned for the welfare and development of ëParticularly Vulnerable Tribal Groupí (PVTG).
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government spent the funds on other tribal communities as well as on non reserved class instead of using it for the welfare of the PVTG, said Congress state media vice president Bhupendra Gupta, while talking to media, here on Thursday. Partyís RTI wing Punit Tandon was also present at the conference. The Congress demanded the government to direct an inquiry into the corruption and arrest the persons involved in wrongdoing.
The party made the disclosure during the ëPol-Kholí campaign it has launched to ëexposeí the corruption prevailing in the government run schemes and programmes.
'The ministry of tribal affairs had given Rs 20 crore for PVGT and Rs 54 for other tribal groups, in 2016-17. But the entire amount of Rs 74 crore was spent on other unreserved people and on tribals, and not on PVGTs,' claimed Gupta. He informed irregularities came to fore after the† party sought details from the department under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.
Saharia, Bharia, Baiga and other tribal communities come under the PVGT group, informed Gupta, adding that in village Kendri of district Mandla 477 Gound tribal were benefited, but none from Baiga or Bharia tribes. The Congress leader said that other financial anomalies have surfaced as in Dindori the list of beneficiaries of PVGT and list of other tribals are the same.
'The amount which was to be distributed to two different groups was merely given to one tribal group as the two lists comprise the same names. Thus the amount sanctioned for the tribals mentioned in one list was disbursed and the rest of the amount which was to be distributed to other group went into the pockets of the corrupts as the second list had the names of the tribals mentioned in the first list and who had already received the amount under the scheme,' he alleged.
