Nearly three years after embezzlement of government funds under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) at Dharsikhedi panchayat had hit the headlines, department is yet to start recovery in the matter even after the panchayat’s tenure is going to get over soon.
Upset over this, many eligible beneficiaries who were deprived of getting benefit under the scheme wrote to the prime minister as well as sent copy of a letter to the Union minister for agriculture and rural development, state governor, chief minister and the district collector demanding recovery orders against those who were involved in the scam.
Earlier, Free Press had prominently raised the issue as well as delay in filing FIR against those involved in the scam after submission of investigation report into the embezzlement of government funds.
Dharsikhedi village, which has a population of 3,000, comes under Badnawar tehsil and is situated about 13-km from tehsil headquarters. The scam was exposed on June 4 in 2017 and it has been done in the name of construction of toilets in the villages.
As per the list of beneficiaries, only 15 per cent of actual beneficiaries from the village got financial assistance for construction of toilets at their places, while officials concerned reportedly withdrew funds in the name of other beneficiaries and transferred into different accounts.
Later, department announced probe into the matter. After investigation, it was detected that Rs 14.26 lakh was embezzled as investigating team found that 137 toilets out of total 190 toilets in the village were constructed on paper only. It was also found that funds were transferred into the accounts of 123 ineligible candidates.
Many villagers claimed that they either have permanent toilets at their homes or they did not apply for benefits under SBA. Still money was withdrawn in their name and transferred to some others account. Accused also withdrew money in the name of government officials currently not residing in the village.
Those responsible for amount disbursement not only embezzled government funds but also manipulated data by uploading same mobile number for multiple beneficiaries in order to cover-up their crime.
As per the investigation report, those who uploaded pictures of 97 beneficiaries used employment assistant Ashok Naima’s ID, while remaining 26 pictures were uploaded using ID of employment assistant Kapil Bairagi, deputy engineer Mahendra Bhoyar and Kaushal Kishore Bharti. These IDs were used to upload pictures of 123 ineligible candidates.
Verification secretary Yogendra Pathak verified all the records and later janpad CEO issued a fund transfer receipt (FTR). At the time when the funds were transferred, Ramesh Mujalde and Hemlata were posted here, while Deepak Rai was CEO here.
Claiming to be innocent, Naima said, “How could I use my ID to upload pictures of ineligible beneficiaries.”
He alleged that ward no. 5 panch Dilip Prajapat allegedly used his ID with the help of panchayat secretary and probe panel should investigate this.
Later Naima got a clean chit in the scam from Badnawar-based session court as he was terminated from duty in the month of October 2016, well ahead of the scam taking place.
When contacted tehsildar Yogendra Singh Mourya, he straight away turned down getting any orders from district collector and district panchayat CEO to register a case against concerned persons involved in the scam. Mourya added that if in case he gets any order from senior authority, he will definitely take relevant action in the matter.
On the other hand, district panchayat CEO Santosh Verma said that he doesn’t know anything about this. He added that he would able to comment on the issue only after going through the court’s file. Similarly, Badnawar janpad pachayat CEO Tija Panwar admitted that the scam was took place, but he doesn’t know anything about the matter.
