Jharkhand:Former CMs bungalows under scanner

Their chair is long gone but not their perks. All former chief ministers of Jharkhand - Babulal Marandi,Arjun Munda,Madhu Koda and Shibu Soren - continue to enjoy residential accommodation with a chauffer-driven car....

Their chair is long gone but not their perks. All former chief ministers of Jharkhand – Babulal Marandi,Arjun Munda,Madhu Koda and Shibu Soren – continue to enjoy residential accommodation with a chauffer-driven car,two personal secretaries and three orderlies,at the expense of the state government.

However,these unwarranted privileges,made legitimate by a state scheme brought in by Marandi in 2003,are now under the scanner of Governor M O H Farook,who has reportedly ordered a review of the scheme. The Governors public relations officer S N Jha said; Officials concerned have been asked to put the facts of the scheme in a file.

The scheme has led to much resentment among many leaders. A Padma Shri recipient and the nominated Rajya Sabha MP of the Congress,Ram Dayal Munda,met Farook earlier this week and handed him a memorandum seeking abolition of the scheme. If this scheme is not done away with,the states treasury will continue to bleed and many more bungalows of Jharkhand will be captured by the former CMs, said Munda.

Story continues below this ad

The passage of the scheme in Jharkhand has been interesting. Marandi,the first CM of the state,had got the scheme approved days after his government was reduced to a minority in 2003. The scheme provides for a bungalow and staff.

Meanwhile,there has been a steep rise in expenditure on maintenance of these bungalows from Rs 10.30 lakh in 2006-07 to Rs 20.68 lakh in 2008-09 and Rs 29.39 lakh in 2009-10. All the formers CMs refused to comment.