Meghnagar (Madhya Pradesh): Based on the preliminary report about the purchase of the allegedly substandard and overpriced sports equipment at government primary and middle schools, District Collector Somesh Mishra has suspended two block resource coordinators and nine Jan Shikshaks.
The preliminary report was submitted by the revenue officer and the district education officer. Based on this report, BRC Devisingh Jamuniya posted in Jhabua development block, and BRC Ram Bihari Rampuria of Thandla, along with two Jan Shikshaks of District Education Center, Petlawad - Vijay Kumar Baria and Sunil Kumar Gupta, Jan Shikshak from Jhabua including Amarsinh Baria, Mukam Singh Baghel and Jan Shikshak Center Meghnagar's Jan Shikshak Jaswant Singh Nayak, and Amar Singh Bhuria, three Jan Shikshaks from Thandla block Shaitan Muniya, Puniya Damor and Vincent Damor have been suspended with immediate effect after they were found guilty under rule 3 (1) (a) of The Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1965.
Earlier, District Collector Mishra had ordered an inquiry after the controversy over the purchase of sports items at the government primary and middle schools had gotten murkier with members of the parents-teachers association from many schools exposing an alleged scam in the purchase of sports equipment.
Many PTA members claimed that the sports items which were procured at many primary and middle schools are overpriced and also that the standard is not up to the mark.
According to information, Jhabua district has a total of 1977 primary and 425 middle schools and as per government instructions, every primary and middle school gets Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for the purchase of sports equipment respectively.
As per the rules, this sports equipment has to be purchased through the parentís teachers association (PTA) and its payment is to be made from the PTA account.
But, the block resource coordinator has been making the payment directly to the suppliers from the Bhopal-based account of the department citing the non-availability of PTAís zero balance account.
Additionally, the officials have sanctioned a budget for the purchase of sports equipment for the academic session which has already passed. The total amount sanctioned for the purchase of sports equipment from class 1 to 5 stands at around Rs 1.41 crore and now dozens of suppliers and babus are eying this fund.
Three shops blacklisted
Three shops supplying sub-standard material have been blacklisted. In the preliminary investigation, it was found that the supply of overpriced and sub-standard sports material have been made from these three shops without following the rules set by the administration. The blacklisted shops are - Kataria Book Center in Meghnagar, Surajmal & Sons in Jhabua and Monica General Store in Thandla village.
Unrest among BRCs and Jan Shikshaks
After the probe began into the matter followed by the suspension of two BRCs and nine Jan Shikshaks in the district, there is unrest among the BRCs and Jan Shikshaks in the district. The quality of sports materials is being checked by the administration by visiting every school till late at night.
Probe begins in Petlawad too
Following the orders of District Collector Somesh Mishra, Petlawad Sub-Divisional Magistrate Shishir Gemawat began a probe into the matter in the tehsil.
Investigating officer Gemawat checked the sports material in Petlawad Excellent Secondary School and Primary School, Girls' Primary School and Secondary School, Raipuria Secondary School and Primary School. Apart from this, Tehsildar Jagdish Verma and Naib Tehsildar Ajay Mishra too inspected the sports material given in various schools.
Gemawat accepted that the material is not up to the mark and he would be able to say anything after submitting a detailed report to the district collector. Now all eyes are on SDM Gemawatís report as it will decide the future course of action in this alleged scam.
