Sunday, January 20, 2013

DOLE SCAM : Netas, officials clean up 101cr meant for poor

State In A Fix As Minister Among 20,000 Involved
Mumbai: Roiled by a rash of corruption charges, the Maharashtra government appears to be headed for deeper trouble. An investigation has unearthed the involvement of thousands of officials and politicians in a decade-old fraud, in which Rs 101 crore of public funds were siphoned off and disbursed to 1.49 lakh bogus beneficiaries. Of the numerous recipients of the dole meant for the destitute, the probe found 19,367 were long dead and 25,484 missing.

The investigation, though incriminating, has placed the government in a quandary. The Bombay high court last month gave the state four weeks to decide on the request for filing of a chargesheet against current medical education minister Vijay Kumar Gavit. Gavit, as the then chairman of a committee in-charge of selecting dole beneficiaries, is accused of having played a role in a part of the fraud many years ago.

If the government agrees to the chargesheet against Gavit, officials pointed out, it will have to do the same against the 13,732 state employees and 7,519 politicians allegedly involved in the scam.

THE DOLE SCAM
• The fraud ran over 10 years
• Rs 101 crore of public funds meant for the destitute, including senior citizens, landless and tribals, were disbursed to 1.49 lakh bogus beneficiaries
• Current medical education minister Vijay Kumar Gavit is among the politicians allegedly involved

Netas blame dole fraud on tehsildars
The exposure of the Rs 101 crore dole fraud in Maharashtra, incidentally, began with another court order. About a decade ago, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay HC had asked the state to investigate charges of irregularities in the implementation of Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, National Senior Citizens’ Pension Scheme and Indira Gandhi Landless Labour Assistance Scheme. The ensuing probe found that, in Nandurbar district, 637 ineligible people were given financial assistance of Rs 4.04 lakh.

In the wake of this, the government issued two orders. On March 4, 2002, then social justice secretary Suresh Kumar asked the Nashik divisional commissioner to initiate criminal proceedings against those involved in the fraud. And, on July 19, 2002, then chief secretary V Rangnathan directed all divisional commissioners to conduct a high-level probe into the implementation of the schemes. Following Suresh Kumar’s directive, the Nandurbar collector lodged a complaint against Gavit, who was the chairman of a committee tasked with picking beneficiaries, and 50 officials, who processed the beneficiaries’ application forms.

Separately, in their findings, the divisional commissioners across the state confirmed rampant irregularities in the selection of dole recipients. The largest number of sham beneficiaries—97,221 —were found in Aurangabad; they were allegedly picked by 1,618 government employees and 1,567 politicians. Next in the fraud list came Amravati (21,039 bogus recipients, picked by 1,912 officials and 812 politicians), Konkan (12,657 sham recipients, chosen by 377 officials and 486 politicians), and Pune (2,405 bogus recipients, selected by 833 officials and 231 politicians).

In all, the divisional commissioners reported, the state lost Rs 101 crore in the fraud. Of this, Rs 8.9 crore was disbursed in the Konkan region, Rs 90 lakh in Nashik region, Rs 1.47 crore in Pune, Rs 14.8 crore in Nagpur, Rs 10.8 crore in Amavati and Rs 63.7 crore in Aurangabad region.

In the Konkan region, it was discovered that six bogus beneficiaries were given assistance in Khetwadi area, which was then represented by senior Congress leader Bhai Jagtap. Similarly, 14 recipients were found in Nagpada area, then represented by Syed Ahmad, who is now the Jharkhand governor; 50 beneficiaries were identified in Dharavi, which was represented by women and child welfare minister Varsha Gaikwad.

Industries minister Narayan Rane argued that politicians cannot be blamed for the systemic embezzlement since they have a limited role to play in the implementation of the schemes. “All the proposals are processed at the lower level and finally approved by the tehsildar. As a formality, they are brought before the committee headed by an elected representative,” Rane said.

TimesView : Stop this loot
This seems to be the latest in a long line of schemes meant to benefit the poor that has been hijacked by netas and babus. No amount of welfare-minded schemes initiated at the top will help people at the bottom of the pyramid if the benefits get channelised outside midway. Strict action must be taken in this case and the government must ensure benefits really trickle down to the intended recipients. It’s unfortunate that there is some remedial action in such cases only when the judiciary steps in or there is exposure by the media.

ANATOMY OF A SCAM
Crores meant for the state’s destitute were allegedly embezzled over a prolonged period

SCHEMES | Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana, National Senior Citizens’ Pension Scheme and Indira Gandhi Landless Labour Assistance Scheme. Their beneficiaries are chosen at the tehsil level by a committee headed by an elected representative. Application forms are processed by the tehsildar and then submitted before the committee. The beneficiary gets financial assistance of Rs 250 per month. The dole was first Rs 60 per month and then Rs 100, before being hiked to Rs 250

FRAUD | Bogus beneficiaries were given dole AMOUNT SIPHONED OFF | Rs 101 crore

BOGUS BENEFICIARIES | 1.49L, including 19,367 dead people and 25,484 missing

INVOLVED | 7,519 politicians and party workers, who were members of the committees involved in selecting recipients, and 13,732 officials

EXPOSE | In Nandurbar, following a complaint lodged by Congress leader Chandrakant Raghuwanshi, a probe discovered that 637 bogus people were given financial assistance of Rs 4.04 lakh. All the beneficiaries deposited the amount after a criminal case was filed

ACTION PLAY
While the government has issued show-cause notices to 13,732 employees, criminal complaints have been filed against 50 people in Nandurbar district. The state government is now awaiting the outcome of a case pending before the high court

POLITICIAN SPEAK
Most politicians claimed they had a limited role in the process of selecting dole beneficiaries. The exercise, they say, was conducted by tehsildars, who have the network and machinery to verify the beneficiaries.
Courtesy:
Prafulla Marpakwar TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=pastissues2&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/01/09&PageLabel=1&EntityId=Ar00102&ViewMode=HTML

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