Zila Parishad members allege misuse of funds, stage protest in Sirsa

In Sirsa, several Zila Parishad members staged a symbolic protest at the Zila Parishad office, accusing Chairman Karan Chautala and the CEO of irresponsible behaviour and alleged misuse of government funds meant

for development.

The protest was led by Zila Parishad representative Happy Rania along with members Jagdev Singh Nikka, Nandlal Beniwal, Balkaran Singh Bhangu, Balwinder Barar, Gurcharan Singh Fauji, Sandeep Kaur, Santosh Godara, Kamaljit Kaur, and Satguru Singh.

Happy Rania said it was three years since the Zila Parishad elections, but during the period, only five official meetings were held. He alleged that development proposals from Opposition members were ignored and not even a single rupee was approved for their regions.

Jagdev Singh Nikka accused the CEO of acting more like a political worker than a government official and said his behaviour towards Opposition members was disrespectful. He demanded a thorough investigation into how the funds allocated to the Zila Parishad over the last three years were used.

Nandlal Beniwal alleged that despite receiving crores of rupees for development, the funds were either returned unused or misused. He claimed that 40-50 per cent of the funds were being taken as commission by the Chairman and CEO through deals with contractors.

Balkaran Singh Bhangu added that the funds were not being distributed equally among the 24 constituencies of the Zila Parishad, and instead being given out unfairly.

The protesting members have demanded that the government set up an investigation committee to look into the use of funds and the functioning of the Zila Parishad. They warned that if the government did not take action soon, they would intensify their protest against the Chairman and the CEO.

Meanwhile, Zila Parishad Sirsa Chairman Karan Chautala has rejected all allegations of biased fund allocation made by members of the parishad. In a statement, he said under his tenure, the largest amount of rural development funds was received and fairly distributed. He accused the protesting members of skipping meetings and creating political drama. Chautala added that he stood for collective village development, not personal gain and called the protest a politically motivated act lacking substance.

MLA demands clarity on use of cleanliness grants

• Sirsa MLA Gokul Setia had raised concerns about District Council CEO Dr Subhash Chandra’s work style.

• He has been regularly demanding answers from the CEO on social media.

• Setia is upset because, despite crores of rupees being allocated for village cleanliness, the villages remain dirty and garbage was not properly collected.

• MLA Setia even followed the CEO’s car demanding accountability, causing a big uproar on social media. Both sides had exchanged statements.