Punjab: CM Bhagwant Mann orders inquiry into scholarship scam

Dharamsot was accused of a scam in the scholarship scheme. The CM assured the people of Punjab that this enquiry will be a thread-bare analysis to ascertain every lapse and embezzlement of the public money under the post matric scholarship scheme. He said that these discrepancies are an intolerable crime against the weaker and underprivileged strata of society adding that anyone found involved in this will not be spared and severest of severe action will be taken against them. The CM said that the “barbaric embezzlement” of the funds under the post matric scholarship scheme has ruined the bright future of millions of Schedule Caste (SC) students by depriving them of quality higher education.

The CM said that these irregularities were a day light robbery on the interests of the weaker sections and his government cannot allow the culprits to move freely. He bemoaned that rather than acting against the guilty, the successive Akali and Congress governments have patronised the politicians and bureaucrats who were involved in this sinister move. Mann said that not only this but the Akali, BJP and Congress leadership have also connived with each other to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime evade any action.

However, the CM said that now the government of common man will expose the misdeeds of these parties as the nexus of politicians and bureaucrats have extended largesse to the educational institutes for their own vested interests thereby harassing the SC students both mentally and physically. He unequivocally said that action will be definitely taken against those who are responsible for these discrepancies. “The guilty of these irregularities will be made answerable for the loot of every single penny from the state exchequer” added Bhagwant Mann. Dharamsot was accused of the scam during former Chief minister Amarinder Singh’s government but was given a clean chit by three-member panel comprising three Punjab officials. The Centre had also ordered an inquiry into the alleged scam but no headway was made into the case.

The scam was alleged by the then administrative secretary of social welfare department, Kripa Shankar Saroj, who had written to the then Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on August 21, 2020, had alleged that under the PMS-SC scheme, the Centre had sent Rs 303 crore to Punjab during February-March 2019. “Though the Directorate of Social Justice withdrew Rs 248 crore from the treasury, however, the department had then distributed this sum in an arbitrary manner. Significantly, records pertaining to Rs 39 crore are missing. Either this sum has been embezzled or paid to some ghost institutions.”

“An amount of Rs 16.91 crore was paid to such institutions against which the audit team had recommended a recovery of Rs 8 crore, thus costing the state exchequer Rs 24.91 crore. If the amount of recoveries which the audit team had concluded are added to this Rs 16.91 crore, then these officials had cost the exchequer to the tune of Rs 24.91 crore. The minister and his team of officers, worked in tandem,” the communication had stated.

“Payments were made to even those institutions, which had been found out as defaulters by the FD audit team. Instead of effecting recoveries from those institutions, heavy payments were made at the level of deputy director Parminder Singh Gill,” the report added.

The whistle-blower was later transferred out of the department. Following the expose, the then Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had ordered an inquiry and asked the then Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan to look into the case.

Simultaneously, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot had also ordered a departmental inquiry into alleged scam. Two Joint Secretary-level officers in the department were deputed to conduct the probe that did not make any headway. At that time Amarinder had accused the BJP led Centre of “interference” in state affairs without consulting the state government and waiting for an inquiry being undertaken by Chief Secretary.