A controversy regarding misappropriation of Rs 60.96 lakh by Radhanpur BJP legislator Shankar Chaudhary from the Prime Minister’s relief fund for the 2001 quake victims has reached the Gujarat High Court. Notices have now been sent to the Centre and the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) in this regard.The notices were issued based on a petition by a Radhanpur resident, Farsunbhai Mujibhai Goklam, who charged Chaudhary of misappropriating the funds. According to the petition, Shri Vivekanand Vikas Mandal, a trust run by the MLA and his family, ran a number of educational institutions, including the Nalanda Girls School in Radhanpur. The said school was run from a rented building belonging to another trust — the Sarvodaya Arogya Nidhi and did not suffer damage in the earthquake. But Chaudhary “connived with the state government officials and fabricated evidence to swindle the amount from the relief fund for his personal benefit.”According to the petition, trustees of the Sarvodaya Arogya Nidhi did not approach the state government for any relief pertaining to the quake. The petition added that Chaudhary used the fund to buy a big plot of land at Radhanpur by executing a sale deed in the name of his own trust. As the land was in the name of the legislator’s trust, Patan collector granted permission for construction of buildings for a primary school and a PTC college on the plot. At present, the Nalanda School is being run from its previous building as also from the newly constructed building, the petition said.Incidentally, a government resolution issued on September 19, 2001 regarding the Centre’s rehabilitation scheme for the quake victims, specifically states no school or trust will use the fund for any other purpose. The petition further said that the MLA had earlier misappropriated funds meant for members of the state Assembly by diverting it to his own trust.
