IMC zeroes in on Verma

THE INDORE Municipal Corporation?s (IMC) quest for a Treasury Department staffer to man the accounts officer?s post ? lying vacant since the suspension of Radheshyam Jha for financial irregularities - seems to have come to an end.

THE INDORE Municipal Corporation’s (IMC) quest for a Treasury Department staffer to man the accounts officer’s post – lying vacant since the suspension of Radheshyam Jha for financial irregularities - seems to have come to an end.

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Civic bosses have reportedly decided that A K Verma, currently serving as Treasury Officer (Mandsaur), is the right man to step into Jha’s shoes. According to well-placed sources, Municipal Commissioner Vinod Sharma has written to the Principal Secretary (Finance) requesting that Verma be sent to IMC as Accounts Officer.

The Commissioner has pointed out that in the recent past the post was manned by officials who did not possess the requisite qualifications - a reference to Jha who belongs to the Audit Department. The lack of a qualified accountant resulted in the pension and social security scam and continues to cast a dark shadow over the Corporation’s fiscal affairs, he added.

The Commissioner has pointed out that Verma, who was recently promoted to the scale of deputy director, an experienced Treasury Department official was the right man for the job.

Meanwhile, the three-member committee appointed to probe the Rs 13-crore scam has been granted a week’s time to submit its report.

The committee, headed by Additional Municipal Commissioner K R Jain, has been directed to find out if payments were made under heads for which money was allotted under the 2005-06 budget, how many contractors were paid and how much. The panel also has to determine if any other officials were involved in the scam.