The village development and panchayat department has dismissed two MGNREGA, now Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB—G RAM G), officials accused of “misappropriation” of ₹4.16 lakh with immediate effect.
Principal secretary of the village development and panchayat department has also ordered to recover the amount from the errant employees. Earlier, in January 2025, the Ludhiana Zila Parishad had recommended action against Nachattar Kaur, former sarpanch of Rohanon Khurd village and two MGNREGA officials in the case.
The employees who have been sacked are MGNREGA technical assistant Gurpreet Singh and gram rozgar sewak Gurinder Singh.
The issue had come to light after village nambardar, whistle blower Santokh Singh Benipal filed an RTI query in 2021. He alleged that the accused were behind getting funded a pond cleaning project through both panchayat as well as MGNREGA funds, leading to duplicate expenditure.
The department had ordered a probe into the matter. As per a letter dated March 23, 2021, the deputy chief executive officer (DCEO) of the Ludhiana Zila Parishad had issued orders for an investigation. Subsequent inspections by officials, including an SDO from Samrala, revealed significant discrepancies in the project execution and records.
Gurpreet Singh reportedly admitted to initiating the pond cleaning work without getting it de-watered and providing incorrect estimates. Additionally, crucial records, including quotations and photographic evidence, were missing, the inquiry report that came out recently mentioned, adding that Jaswant Singh, junior engineer in the Khanna panchayat office, confirmed that no work under MGNREGA was conducted in his presence.
The DCEO’s report concluded that Nachhatar Kaur, Gurpreet Singh and Gurinder Singh “misappropriated” government funds. It recommended to the district administration to take strict disciplinary action against the accused and recover the misappropriated ₹4.16 lakh.
www.hindustantimes.com
#Ludhiana #MGNREGA #officials #sacked #lakh #fund #bungling
