Patiala village sarpanch, 7 panches suspended for bungling ₹23 crore

The Punjab rural development and panchayats department has suspended the sarpanch and seven panches (members) of Nalas Khurd village in Patiala district for allegedly bungling ₹23 crore during the previous Congress regime

Patiala :The Punjab rural development and panchayats department has suspended the sarpanch and seven panches (members) of Nalas Khurd village in Patiala district for allegedly bungling ₹23 crore during the previous Congress regime.

The Punjab rural development and panchayats department has suspended the sarpanch and seven panches (members) of Nalas Khurd village in Patiala district for allegedly bungling ₹23 crore during the previous Congress regime.

The orders were passed by director, rural development and panchayats department, Gurpreet Singh Khaira on March 31. HT has a copy of the order.

The department has also asked the Rajpura block development and panchayat officer (BDPO) to immediately seal the bank accounts of the panchayat.

Besides, the department has written to the assistant director, panchayats, to take action against panchayat secretaries Jasveer Chand and Rajinder Kumar of Shambhu Kalan block for not furnishing records.

The probe into the alleged bungling was initiated in September last year following a complaint by village resident Swaran Singh.

It was alleged that members, including the sarpanch, spent the funds received in lieu of land acquired for the national highway despite being barred by the Punjab and Haryana high court.

After the probe, the district development and panchayat officer indicted the sarpanch and panches. Based on the probe report, sarpanch Munshi Ram and panches Surinder Singh, Som Chand, Jagbir Singh, Ved Parkash, Sunita, Manpreet Kaur and Gurjit Kaur have been suspended under Section 20 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.

During the probe, it came to the fore that the panchayat spent ₹23 crore on petty works in violation of the high court order.

Director, rural development and panchayats department, Gurpreet Singh Khaira said the department will also initiate criminal proceedings against those who misused public money. The vigilance department is also investigating into alleged misappropriation of funds of panchayat, it is learnt.