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PMAY Urban scam: Ludhiana MC employee booked for usurping ₹5.25L posing as underprivileged
The accused posed as underprivileged and showed her mother Seema Rani and sister Jyoti Kataria as poor in the government record to avail the benefit of rupees ₹5.2 lakh under PMAY Urban scam
Four days after the municipal corporation (MC) commissioner Shena Aggarwal formed a six-member committee to probe the release of payments to beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY, Urban) in Ludhiana, the city police have registered a case against MIS expert, city-level technical cell (CLTC), Amandeep Kaur, her mother and sister for usurping ₹5.25 lakh by posing herself as underprivileged.
The accused was booked under section 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint of Simrat Pal Singh Kalsi, a social activist and a whistle-blower in the alleged scam.
As per the police report, the accused posed as underprivileged and showed her mother Seema Rani and sister Jyoti Kataria as poor in the government record to avail the benefit of rupees ₹5.2 lakh under the scheme meant for the repair of the houses.
Investigating officer Sulakhan Singh said further probe is underway.
The MC commissioner had ordered a probe into the matter on October 27 and committee will table its report within 15- days.
Deep-rooted nexus at play: RTI activist
Notably, RTI activist Kuldeep Singh Khaira had also alleged irregularities in the scheme in Ludhiana and lodged a complaint in September, demanding a vigilance probe into the matter.
Khaira said the present case was a part of a deep-rooted nexus operating within the civic body, alleging that Amandeep Kaur has been made a scapegoat to protect well-connected MC officials.
“Why has the case been registered against an employee on the complaint of a social activist. We have reported the complaint to the MC, not to the police. If the MC officials had found anomalies, why was the case not registered on the complaint of MC officials. Why has the case only been registered against beneficiary Amandeep Kaur and not against not against other officials who had approved the files,” he questioned.
In a complaint to the ministry of housing and urban affairs and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Khaira had alleged that an employee, who was posted in the Ludhiana MC by the State Urban Development Authority, and four of her relatives had availed benefits of the scheme.
Alleging a scam, Khaira said, “Guidelines such as geo-tagging of each case and selection process were openly flouted. Non-eligible persons were picked up as beneficiaries and huge amounts were usurped.”
