21 talathis clerks in Jalna suspended over irregularities in disbursal of disaster relief

Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI) As many as 21 talathis and clerks have been suspended in Maharashtra's Jalna district over alleged irregularities in the disbursal of relief assistance for unseasonal rains, state minister Makrand Jadhav said on Tuesday.
    Responding to a question in the legislative council, the state relief and rehabilitation minister said that the government allocated Rs 522.29 crore to Jalna district for losses due to unseasonal rains, hailstorms and other natural calamities for 2022-23.
    Of this amount, Rs 112.63 crore was for Ambad and Rs 11.77 crore for Ghansawangi, and there were complaints about irregularities in the disbursal of funds in these two talukas, he said.
    A committee was formed to investigate the matter in January this year, and irregularities were found in 122 of the 138 villages in Ambad and 59 of the 115 Ghansawangi talukas, Jadhav said.
    The minister said the interim probe report submitted in April also revealed that money was disbursed to 14,549 account holders, and Rs 34.97 crore was transferred into these accounts.
    He said that in 2022-23 and 2023-24, the login credentials of the tehsildar had been misused for disbursal of relief funds earmarked for losses due to unseasonal rains, hailstorms and other natural calamities.
    "Based on the district-level committee probe report, 21 talathis and clerks have been suspended," the minister said.
    A departmental inquiry has been initiated against the concerned tehsildar, naib tehsildar, 36 talathis and clerks. The concerned departments are also probing gram sevaks and agriculture assistants, he said.
    The divisional commissioner of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is also probing into the matter, which will not be limited to Jalna district but all eight district circles.
    Strict action will be taken against the guilty officers, he said.
Council Chairman Ram Shinde said the probe should have been completed in six months, as over a year has passed since the alleged irregularities.
    He said that the departmental probe should be completed within the next 15 days, and action should be initiated against the guilty.
    Congress MLC Abhijit Vanzari pointed out that the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita stated that even if there is prima facie evidence about an irregularity, a criminal case should be registered.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)