Team News Riveting
Raipur, July 26
The alleged irregularities in the utilization of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds in Chhattisgarh came up for a discussion in the state legislative assembly today.
While the opposition lawmakers revealed loopholes point-wise, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel assured that the officials found guilty would be punished. “We would not spare any officer,” he said.
Senior BJP legislator Saurabh Singh raised the issue in the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly and said the Janjgir-Champa district administration procured machines worth Rs 8 crore on a single quotation that it had received. Moreover, the procurement was not made through the GeM (Government e-Marketplace) as mandated, Singh said, adding that works were sanctioned without the consent of the governing body.
Substantiating his claims of shady deals, Singh said there was no audit of the works executed from the DMF head in Janjgir-Champa while Rs 23 crore was spent on training. “The money has been spent only on papers,” Singh alleged. He added that the District Collector cannot use more than 10 per cent amount but Rs 30 crore was spent.
The BJP legislator said even after being transferred, the District Collector sanctioned projects worth Rs 15 crore from the head. Baghel however clarified that the Collector was not relieved when it was sanctioned.
Another BJP legislator Narayan Chandel said the irregularities in the DMF fund utilization had been reported from different parts of the state. He said the works executed had not been uploaded on the website.
The Chief Minister denied the allegations and said the district had been receiving over Rs 100 crore every year on the DMF kitty. The works had been sanctioned only with the approval of the governing body, he said.
Baghel said if the officers were found guilty of concealing information, they would be punished. The Chief Minister said no officer would be spared.
