Churah panchayat pradhan, mule owner booked in Rs 1.5 crore scam

The local police have unearthed a fraud involving the payment of Rs 1.53 crore to a mule owner for the transportation of construction material for development projects at Sanwal panchayat in Churah subdivision of Chamba district. Villagers had filed a complaint alleging financial irregularities in the transportation of construction material on January 20.

A similar scam had happened in the state involving cars supplying drinking water in Theog of Shimla district and scooters transporting sand and gravel in Sirmaur’s Sangrah.

The police investigation has revealed that the bank account in which a hefty amount of money was deposited was of a mule owner, who belongs to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. Initially, the money was transferred from a government account to the bank account of the mule owner for the transportation of construction material. However, instead of being used for the stated purpose, the funds were diverted to the bank accounts of panchayat representatives and their relatives through cheques and other modes. The person named in the official records, who was responsible for material transportation, reportedly owns only one mule.

This is not the first time Sanwal panchayat has come under scrutiny. Earlier, a fraud relating to the distribution of apple saplings under the MGNREGA scheme was unearthed. In this case, Rs 1.20 crore was allocated for the plantation of 48,000 apple saplings. However, following a complaint, the then SDM conducted an inquiry and found that only 19,367 saplings were actually planted. The panchayat pradhan, up-pradhan and former ward members were implicated in the case.

Earlier this month, the village pradhan was also accused of involvement in a scam of selling government cement worth Rs 1.20 crore. Chamba SP Abhishek Yadav said that an FIR had been filed against the Sanwal panchayat pradhan and the mule owner. The police are now investigating all vendor accounts linked to the panchayat to trace the full extent of the financial mismanagement.

Sanwal panchayat secretary Chatar Singh said that the fraudulent transactions might have occurred before he assumed office. Meanwhile, Tissa Block Development Officer Mahesh Thakur acknowledged that the matter was in his notice and that an in-depth investigation was underway.

Funds diverted

• The mule owner, who belonged to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, received Rs 1.53 crore in his bank account for the transportation of construction material meant for development works
• The amount was later diverted to the accounts of panchayat representatives and their relatives