Punjab: Sarpanch siphons off MGNREGA funds

A village sarpanch here has been accused of siphoning off MGNREGA funds by facilitating payments to his family members and supporters by repeatedly undertaking development works at a school playground.

Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh has directed the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) to conduct an inquiry.

Ganesh Kumar, sarpanch of Sammu Chak village in Dinanagar, claimed that “levelling work had been done in the school playground”.

He did not respond when questioned as to why the work was allotted to only his relatives and supporters.

A complaint in this regard was filed on May 23 by a former panchayat member of the village, Pawan Kumar.

This issue was also raised in a meeting chaired by Lok Sabha MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, where the DC was also present.

Pawan Kumar alleged that whenever any work was to be undertaken in the playground of the village school under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the sarpanch got the work allotted to 20 of his immediate kin and five of his supporters.

The complaint alleged that this way, he siphoned off Rs 3 lakh since December last year.

“The issue is not only the money, it is also about the reprehensible manner in which he is manipulating the scheme,” said Pawan Kumar. The complaint said those repeatedly allotted work at the school playground included the sarpanch’s octogenarian parents Parkash Chand and Bawa Devi, wife Champa Devi and brother Ramesh Lal. His son Sarwan Singh, who is an agriculturist, also appeared among the beneficiaries.

The others who benefitted included his paternal uncle Amarnath, aunts Paramjit Kaur, Krishna Devi, Sheela Devi, Sulakhani Devi and Soma Devi, sisters-in-law Madhu Bala and Naresh Kumari, cousin Labhu Ram, niece Kanchan Kumari, and Babu Ram, an RMP doctor who also possesses six acres.

Babu Ram has identified himself as a Scheduled Caste in the job card while he belongs to the Rajput community. Moreover, the sarpanch’s parents were shown as labourers. Rules say only those aged between 18 and 60 are allowed to work under the plan. .

According to sources, all these persons regularly go to the school ground to get themselves photographed.

According to norms, it is a must to uploaded photographs online if payments are to be credited into bank accounts of beneficiaries.