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Ludhiana | MC smells scam in PMAY scheme, chief forms panel to probe release of payments
The committee was formed after a preliminary probe was conducted against a Ludhiana MC employee who was accused of availing and also doling out the benefits under the PMAY scheme to her relatives
Municipal corporation commissioner Shena Aggarwal has formed a six-member committee to probe the release of payments to beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna ( PMAY- Urban) in Ludhiana.
The committee was formed after a preliminary probe was conducted against an MC employee who was accused of availing and also doling out the benefits under the PMAY scheme to her relatives.
The order read that keeping in view of the facts which came to light during the probe of complaint against MIS expert Amandeep Kaur, who had taken the benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, it has been decided to conduct a scrutiny of the detailed project report (DPR) to find out whether those benefited from the scheme were the actual beneficiaries.
The committee includes joint commissioner Kulpreet Singh as chairperson, superintending engineer Tirth Bansal, zonal commisisoner Jasdev Sekhon, deputy controller finance and accounts (DCFA), city-level technical cell (CTLC) member of PMAY scheme Harjot Singh and Harish Kumar. The committee will table its report within 15- days.
Notably, RTI activist Kuldeep Singh Khaira had alleged irregularities in the scheme in Ludhiana and lodged a complaint in September, demanding a vigilance probe into the matter.
In his complaint, which was sent to the ministry of housing and urban affairs and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Khaira alleged that an employee, who was posted in the Ludhiana MC by the State Urban Development Authority of the department of local government, made herself and four of her close relatives as beneficiaries in 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.”
Khaira has also demanded a vigilance inquiry and suspected the involvement of senior MC officials behind it.
