Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has once again written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati over the alleged scam in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment (MNREGA) scheme in the state.
As per details available with Zee News, Thursday, Ramesh has named officials who have misused MNREGA funds. This is the second letter written by Ramesh to Mayawati over the issue.
Mayawati had sent the reply to Jairam Ramesh’s previous letter by directly writing to the Prime Minister. She alleged that Jairam’s letter was ‘politically motivated’ and was more of a generalisation with no specifics detailed.
In response, Jairam’s latest 14-page letter which covers the implementation of the scheme in seven districts, lists out the names of corrupt officials along with details about the irregularities committed by them.
Like in Balrampur, tin plates which should have ideally cost only Rs 17.5 lakhs were brought for Rs 75 lakhs. Action was recommended against the accused official Sachidanand Dubey, yet no action was taken against him.
In Gonda, toys were bought for Rs 40 lakhs but the corruption official Raj Bahadur was not acted upon. Ramesh also reminded the Chief Minster that she had announced that Raj Bahadur would be suspended but it has not happened so yet.
While in Sonebhadra district, a village level officer, Rajesh Dubey, committed gross irregularities and siphoned off crores of rupees which he invested in his wife’s name in a company and even filed a income tax return of Rs one crore.
Ramesh alleged that the corrupt officials are being shielded and no worthwhile action has been taken against them.
He also, once again, demanded that a CBI probe be ordered into the alleged irregularities.
Ramesh has accused the state of turning a blind eye to as many as 22 reports of inquiry made by the National Level Monitors (NLMs) set up by his ministry on these cases.
The Centre has so far spent Rs 5,000 crore on the scheme in the state, this financial year.
Ramesh had in an earlier letter said that he has the option of stopping funds for the scheme altogether but since it would hurt the people for no fault of theirs.
First Published: Thursday, November 17, 2011, 09:43