Vigilance Bureau book 16 in Rs 31.40-lakh housing repair scam in Ambala
Former and serving welfare officials, agents and ineligible beneficiaries accused of misusing Dr BR Ambedkar Awas Navinikaran Yojana funds
An alleged grant scam involving Rs 31.40 lakh has come to light in Ambala, where ineligible persons were allegedly given financial assistance for house repairs under the Dr BR Ambedkar Awas Navinikaran Yojana.
A case has been registered by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Ambala, against 16 persons, including the former and current District Welfare Officers, two former Tehsil Welfare Officers, a Deputy Superintendent in the District Welfare Officer’s office, agents and ineligible beneficiaries, under relevant sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the Vigilance Bureau, complaints were received in 2022 alleging that between 2018-19 and 2021-22, the state government had released grants for the repair of houses and roofs of families belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) categories under the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Department’s Dr BR Ambedkar Awas Navinikaran Yojana.
The complainants alleged that, along with eligible beneficiaries, applications of several ineligible persons were submitted through agents. They further alleged that the officials concerned and the agents got grants sanctioned for ineligible applicants and collected nearly half of the grant amount. In some cases, grants were allegedly sanctioned to two or three members of the same family living in the same house.
During the investigation, officials found that grants worth more than Rs 17 crore had been released to 3,922 beneficiaries during the period.
Statements of several applicants were recorded, and many informed investigators that they had applied through agents. Of the 59 applications examined in detail, only four applicants were found to be eligible under the departmental guidelines. The remaining 55 applicants did not fulfil the eligibility criteria, yet financial assistance ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 80,000 was released without proper verification.
The investigation further revealed that officials and staff sanctioned and disbursed grants without complying with departmental notifications and guidelines. Several irregularities were detected, including the release of grants on the basis of incomplete application forms, approval of applications from ineligible candidates and disbursal of grants without conducting mandatory on-site inspections of applicants’ houses.
It was also found that six beneficiaries received grants twice within a year. After the grant amounts were credited to beneficiaries’ bank accounts, nearly 50 per cent of the funds were allegedly collected back through agents. Instead of obtaining utilisation certificates from beneficiaries, the concerned Tehsil Welfare Officers allegedly prepared and submitted false utilisation certificates to the department themselves.
According to the FIR, the officials and agents acted in collusion and misused their official positions. The concerned Tehsil officials allegedly falsely certified the eligibility of ineligible beneficiaries, processed incomplete applications, facilitated the transfer of Rs 31.40 lakh into the bank accounts of 55 beneficiaries, and submitted incorrect eligibility certificates to secure approval of the grants.
