RDD Poonch a hub of corruption: No inquiry ever conducted on frauds in PMAY, NREGA, and GEM purchasing; BDOs made a mockery of the system

RDD Poonch a hub of corruption: No inquiry ever conducted on frauds in PMAY, NREGA, and GEM purchasing; BDOs made a mockery of the system

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH: Exclusively reported earlier by “POONCH TODAY” regarding the number of fake beneficiaries, including some employees who managed to get benefits under IAY/PMAY in RDD. Poonch, no inquiry has been conducted by the government yet, and it seems that from bottom to top in the RDD department, the system is in the wrong hands.

Moreover, huge fraud is also reported from GEM purchasing, where department officials have selected a few suppliers and used to transfer money into their accounts by purchasing substandard items in lieu of a hefty commission. Items purchased through the GEM portal are shown on paper as top-class, but on the ground, the suppliers used to give sub-standard items because a big nexus is operating in the department whose main target is to get commission from every transaction. In some cases, no item was purchased, but the supplier was given a percentage of that item, and the remaining was swallowed by the department officials, and there are a number of examples of that. The commission culture in the Rural Development Department has reached an alarming level, as officials never move a file without getting commission from the poor masses under the PMAY/NREGA scheme. Many BDOs openly demand commission from their subordinates, as some blocks, including Poonch, Sathra, NSSB, Mankote, Surankote, and a few other blocks, are known for this brazen practice. Almost every block of RDD Poonch has a large number of frauds scripted by tainted RDD officials. The level of high-level fraud is also evident from the fact that some junior assistants, earlier, were illegally promoted to senior assistants by conducting a fraud typing examination at the district level, in violation of open rules. This fraud exercise was conducted in the majority of the districts, although it’s the duty of the government to conduct the exam at the UT level. After an inquiry was initiated by the department, they were demoted to junior assistant. It shows that RDD officials have no fear of the law and love to play open fraud. Moreover, PMAY has also become a money-mining machine for the tainted RDD officials. In Panchayats Galipindi, Galinag (Jandrolla), and Saloonia, those people who remained beneficiaries under IAY also got benefits under PMAY, with the neck-deep involvement of RDD officials. In Block Poonch also, tainted RDD officials looted government money over the years, and the same practice is going on brazenly due to the full shelter of the present BDO. It’s an open secret that BDOs love to demand open commissions for every work. The majority of works under different schemes are not existing on the ground. The offices of ACD and ACP reportedly hit the bulls eye whenever they get an opportunity. Earlier, those who gave money under various schemes got their order sheets generated, and those who failed to do so never got installments on time. Those people who got benefits under IAY earlier were given more benefits under PMAY on paper by showing previously constructed houses as new ones, and in return, they used to transfer money into the accounts of illegal beneficiaries by charging a huge commission. Tainted officials have amassed huge wealth from these wrong practices. The biggest question mark is that the BDOs, ACP, and ACD remain mute spectators of rising levels of corruption as they have made a mockery of the system. Do they also get their due share? There are reports that one of the top officers of RDD Poonch, now transferred to another department, got a huge commission of several lacs for passing a bill from a GEM supplier out of the way. This needs to be investigated, as the matter was brought to the attention of the previous secretary, RDD. On one hand, the PM of India talks of providing benefits to deserving ones, but on the ground, tainted officials of the RDD believe in open fraud with the sole agenda of earning money by any means. In the majority of panchayats, those having a number of houses and being financially sound were also given benefits in some cases under the PMAY scheme because those financially well-off people greased the palms of tainted RDD officials and, in return, got benefits. A high-level inquiry is needed in all blocks of Poonch district panchayat-wise in all NREGA works and to detect how many underserved people were given IAY/PMAY benefits and how many were left out because they failed to give commission to tainted officials. All the houses constructed under PMAY, including those given to employees, need a proper checking on account of quality and fake cases, as many IAY cases were shown as constructed under PMAY by some tainted officials. Moreover, all items purchased through GEM portals need to be inspected to check their quality. Reports reaching “POONCH TODAY” say that similar blunders were also committed in the purchase of computers at high rates of Rs 80,000 per set, but the department officials got substandard configuration on the ground, thereby a huge blow was given to the government exchequer, which amounts to nearly 20,000 to 30,000 per computer. Insiders in the department said that the configuration demanded and provided are different on the ground, and this points towards an indication that massive murder of funds was carried out in the purchase of computers. The offices of X.En REW, BDOs, and other officers holding important positions are involved in a high commission culture of 10% to 20%. RDD Poonch has become a money-mining machine in which tainted officials have only one agenda, and that is to earn money by any means. Going by the state of affairs in RDD from top to bottom, it seems that PM Modi’s vision of development is not being implemented on the ground strongly, as the tainted RDD officials, including BDOs, have made a mockery of the system.