Rigged in MNREGA for 4 years, DC took action after investigation report; Panchayat head suspended

A case of rigging in MNREGA has come to light in Panchayat Karasa of Rohru development block of Shimla. After the investigation report came in this matter, DC has suspended the Panchayat Pradhan.

Subodh Kumar Mishra , ShimlaSun, 20 Oct 2024 07:58 AM share

A case of rigging in MNREGA has come to light in Panchayat Karasa of Rohru development block of Shimla. After the investigation report came in this matter, DC has suspended the Panchayat Pradhan.

After the case of rigging in MNREGA came to light in Panchayat Karasa, Pradhan Dev Raj has been suspended. Shimla DC Anupam Kashyap has issued notification of the order to suspend Pradhan Dev Raj. According to the case, a local resident of Gram Panchayat Karasa had filed a written complaint against the said head to the Block Development Officer, Rohru. A preliminary investigation into this complaint was conducted. 135-page investigation report submitted on 6 May 2024. In the same report, financial irregularities were found in developmental works from the year 2020 to 2024.

On July 1, 2024, a show cause notice was issued to Pradhan Gram Panchayat Karasa regarding the allegations made in the investigation. On July 4, 2024, Pradhan filed his written reply to the above allegations. After this, Pradhan’s written replies were perused along with the records of the Panchayat. In the investigation, the facts presented by Pradhan in his defense were not found to be concrete.

Pradhan has accused the police of making fake bills, irregularities in the purchase of goods, shifting the budget of works, incomplete works, not transferring wages directly to the accounts of workers, allotting work to a single person without quotation, getting excessive work done without budget, Irregularities like working without technical permission etc. have come to light in the investigation.

In such a situation, DC has suspended Pradhan with immediate effect for negligence in his work. Along with this, orders have been issued to hand over all the records, stores, stocks, stamps etc. related to the Panchayat which are available with the Pradhan to the Panchayat Secretary.

Report: UK Sharma