Finding gross irregularities made in purchases in the Nagar Palika Parishad, Nagar Panchayats and other civic bodies almost in the entire state, lokayukta Justice (retired) NK Mehrohtra had reportedly decided to brought the matter in the knowledge of the chief minister Akhilesh Yadav so that specific direction to avert corruption could be passed.
``Yes, the matter was very serious as in most of the complainants made against the chairperson or other heads of panchayats, Nagar Palika Parishad etc, the investigation pointed that when cheaper items were available and a rate list is also available on-line of the nodal agencies of the Government, still several hundred times more payments has been made”, asserted Mehrotra, while confirming that he will write to chief minister to issue at least a specific guidelines to take rate list from the government nodal agencies, only then purchases should be made. Mehrotra refused to talk further on the issue.
Sources said that besides over two dozen cases which surfaced during probe of purchases made by Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchayats, State Ombudsman also learnt through some nodal agencies that how purchases made under various government schemes, like Janeshwar Mishra Gramya Vikas Yojna, lohia Awas Yojna etc, purchases were made several times more than the rate which is approved by the nodal agencies, like Public Works Department, Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development (UPNEDA) etc.
Interestingly, to make fast buck, the heads of their bodies not even take care of Maximum Retail Price (MRP) and in many instances, State Ombudsman found that even that has been not take into consideration and double and triple of the MRP price has been showed paid to purchase items even of multinational companies.
Only on Thursday, lokayukata, registered a case against chairperson of Nagar Palika Parishad in Gonda, Anju Singh, when serious charges leveled against her turned out to be prima facie true. Singh, had purchased 185 solar lights in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 financial-years at the rate of Rs 1,20,600 per light when the same has been available for purchase through NEDA, in Rs 19,800.
Similarly in Hardoi, chairperson of Nagar Palika Parishad, Malti Raman Gupta, had purchased 100 solar lights for which she paid Rs 69,000 for each light against the UPNEDA’s prescribed rate of Rs 19000 per light for that year. It may be mentioned that the state government had directed to make purchases preferably through nodal agencies but still the same was purchased from open market.
last months also, chief minister freezes the administrative as well as financial powers of the chairman of the Nagar Palika Parishad of Pratapgarh, Hari Pratap Singh, after State Ombudsman pointed large scale irregularities in purchase of High Mast light in Paratapgarh and held the chairman primarily responsible for irregularities. The scam resulted into loss of several lakh rupees to state exchequer. Singh, had purchased 25 high mast light of Philips Company (12.5 meter high) out of which 24 were installed but one was lying unutilised just due to lack of proper space. Mehrorta through documents learnt that the purchase was shown at Rs 3.95 lakh per light when schedule rate of Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, was Rs 2.79 lakh per piece.
In one more case, chairman of the Nagar Palika Parishad of Banda, Vinod Jain, was involved in multi-crore rupees scam in purchase of lED lights. Over Rs 3 crore has been paid extra during the purchase of lED lights. Similarly, Parishad purchased two Electric Cremation Machine for the district in more than Rs 2.89 crore but when the State Ombudsman summoned schedule price of the gadget, he was shocked when the company quoted him rate at about just Rs 59 lakh per machine. Besides above, there are at least two dozen more districts where state ombudsman found similar charges true and had recommended action.