EGS: Maharashtra to probe 9.1 cr fraud

In a statement, Deshmukh said he had taken serious note of the corruption in the EGS of Solapur district—first reported in The Indian Express—and stern action will be taken against the guilty.

Kanade, who is already in Solapur, can now order a reading of the muster rolls in the villages—something Varma had been planning to find out if there were more fake names on the register.

In June, Varma suspected foul play when she found that the labour attendance on EGS works had crossed one lakh. The number of EGS work going on also appeared to be far higher than the approvals she remembered having given. In a number of cases, she found her signature was forged to get the work approved.

The CM has also directed the district administration to restart EGS work in the circle, at the centre of the fraud. Varma got word from the Divisional Commissioner’s office on Wednesday that the CM had sent a telephonic message to stop conducting the gram sabhas between August 29 and September 3.

‘‘My staff have put in a lot of hard work to make the system transparent. But I am facing stiff resistance,’’ she told The Indian Express.

The staff of the Agriculture Department—three officials have been suspended after the District Collector filed an FIR against them in the EGS case—had threatened to quit en masse once the fraud came to light.