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HT Explainer: Why Punjab social welfare minister finds himself in a spot in SC scholarship scam
CM Amarinder Singh asked the chief secretary to probe the matter amid demands from the opposition parties and some Congress leaders for the minister’s sacking and a CBI probe
Chandigarh Punjab social welfare minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot is in the eye of the storm for alleged involvement in the ₹64-crore post-matric scholarship scam. After a report indicted Dharamsot and five officials last week, chief minister Amarinder Singh asked the chief secretary to probe the matter amid demands from the opposition parties and some Congress leaders for the minister’s sacking and a CBI probe. On Monday, the Centre also ordered a departmental inquiry by two joint secretary-level officers. Navneet Sharma dissects the anatomy of the scam and its aftermath:
What is the scheme
PMS-SC is a centrally-funded scheme to provide financial assistance to Scheduled Castes students to complete their education. Scholarships, including maintenance allowance and reimbursement of fee and other charges, are given to eligible students pursuing degree and diploma courses. The Centre had stopped funding the scheme in Punjab in 2017-18, but scholarship payments were pending for the previous years. The Union social justice and empowerment ministry, therefore, released ₹303.92 crore in three instalments in February and March 2019.
What are the irregularities
Of this, ₹248.11 crore were withdrawn by the state’s social justice department and the irregularities in distribution of this money to private institutions are behind the controversy. The funds were disbursed in an “arbitrary” manner with some authorities misusing their official positions, according to a 33-page report submitted by additional chief secretary Kripa Shankar Saroj to chief secretary Vini Mahajan on August 24. The report put the embezzlement at ₹64 crore, including ₹39 crore paid to “ghost institutions” and release of ₹16.91 crore to private institutions against which the audit team of the finance department had recommended a recovery of ₹8 crore after getting a re-audit done. “Despite making lots of efforts, no files/papers pertaining to the payment of ₹39 crore have been found so far,” reads the report, concluding that the funds were paid to ghost institutions. Show-cause notices were also served on five officers, including deputy director Parminder Singh Gill, for clearing the payments.
Where does Dharamsot figure in this
Kripa Shankar’s report has raised serious questions about the role of the minister in fund release, pointing out the patronage to his “handpicked” officer Gill, who handled the scheme. “On the basis of available files, it is clear that minister, director, deputy director and other officials had distributed ₹248.11 crore from time to time through split files and in a completely arbitrary manner,” it said, indicting Dharamsot. Also, the minister was distributing work to the department officers, a power vested in the director, and had assigned the work of PMS-SC to Gill under his own signature. However, Dharamsot has denied any wrongdoing, saying: “I am willing to face action if an iota of truth is found in these unsubstantiated allegations.”
Taint on official machinery
Coming down hard on the then PS/ACS, who “abdicated their responsibilities”, the report said either they were reluctant to deal with the subject or they unwillingly allowed the nexus between the deputy director and the minister’s office. The then director Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal (IAS) was having an agenda to enter politics and Gill was reporting directly to the minister. Dhaliwal got elected as an MLA from Phagwara (reserved) seat on a Congress ticket in the by-election in October last year.
How did the irregularities come to notice
Kripa Shankar, who was posted in the department in August 2019, found that the entire focus was on PMS-SC and almost all the other schemes “lay dead”. The department officials were reluctant to share information on paper. A few weeks later, a new director took charge and redistributed the work. Thereafter, the ACS started getting information and found a lot amiss.
Fallout of the scam
The minister’s indictment has not just left the Congress government red-faced, but also given ammunition to opposition parties in the state which has the highest percentage of SC population among all the states. The AAP and SAD have gone after the government and Capt’s detractors in the Congress are also demanding the minister’s removal. The issue later rocked the assembly.
The govt response
The state government has announced another probe. Amarinder on Saturday asked chief secretary Vini Mahajan to probe the irregularities, but the opposition parties have rejected the move, calling it an exercise to give a clean chit to the minister. They are demanding a CBI probe.
What next
After Union social justice minister Thavar Chand Gehlot on Monday ordered a departmental inquiry by two joint secretary-level officers of his ministry, Amarinder termed it as yet another attack on the federal structure. However, it is not unusual for the central ministries to depute teams to look into misuse of funds given under the centrally sponsored scheme, often for initiating “recovery”. But this is just the first step.
