District Collector Amrit Rituraj suspended Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) of Kurunti GP Chandan Kumar for bungling Harishchandra Yojana funds in connivance with the local Sarpanch.
The duo showed 11 alive persons as dead in official records and gulped the money.
The 11 persons and their family members recently met BDO of Rajnagar and demanded action against the errants. They were Pravat Kumar Swain, Gopinath Khatua, Ananta Charan Jena, Sanyasi Khatua of Kurunti village, Alekha Behera, Chandramani Behera of Chakradharpur, Gopinath Biswal, Narahari Pradhan of Nodhabasant village, Ramachandra Pradhan of Chandrasekhar village and Sridhar Sahu of Guhalakani village
After an inquiry into the issue by the ABDO of Rajnagar, the irregularities came to light. The BDO submitted the inquiry report to the district Collector.
Notably, the State Government provides financial assistance under Harishchandra Yojana to the poverty stricken family for funeral rites of a deceased member.
The Sarpanch disburses Rs 2,000 under the yojana to the next of kin of the deceased person as immediate relief.
The Panchayat Executive Officer(PEO) has to update the name of the deceased person in the official website. Later, the BDO makes authorisation on the deceased person's documents and disburses the money to the Panchayat account.