The Uttar Pradesh Government has ordered a probe into misuse of funds by State Gau Seva Aayog that gave 86 per cent of the funds to an NGO run by Aparna Yadav, former CM Akhilesh Yadav’s sister-in-law. Dairy Development minister Chaudhary laxmi Narain confirmed that a probe has been ordered into the matter. “How can an organisation be given 86 per cent of the total funds. It needs to be probed,” he said. The fact came to light after through an RTI disclosure that 86 per cent of the total grant given by Gau Seva Aayog was granted to Aparna Yadav’s NGO ‘Jeev Aashraya’. The NGO runs the Kanha Upwan Goshal near Amausi owned by lucknow Muncipal Corporation. As per information, from 2012 to 2017, the Aayog gave a total grant of Rs 9.66-crore, of which Rs 8.35-crore were given only to Jeev Aashraya (constituting 86.4 per cent of the grants). “This is a big scandal. This is a matter of probe as how and why one NGO got the lion’s share of Gau Sewa Aayog. Truth should emerge after the probe,” the minister said.
When contacted, Aparna Yadav expressed suprise and querried, “So what is wrong in it IJ If some organisation is doing good work for welfare of animals and gets financial help from the Government, should it be questioned. There is no irregularity in working of my NGO ‘Jeev Aashraya’. The money was used judiciously,” she said. In fact, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had appreciated the NGO’s work after visiting Kanha Upwan along with Aparna Yadav and her husband Prateek Yadav, the youngest son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, soon after taking over in March.