Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday warned that stern action will be taken against officers if any financial irregularities were detected in the utilization of the Janjgir-Champa District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund.
BJP MLAs Saurabh Singh, Narayan Chandel and Shivratan Sharma raised the issue of financial irregularities in the DMF fund in Janjgir-Champa during the Monsoon session of the Assembly.
Saurabh Singh said that on a single quotation for a work, Rs 8 crore was paid. The contractor supplied the machine. As per Central government rules, the procurement has to be done through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
He further said that without approval from the DMF’s District Governing Council, the machines were procured. The Janjgir-Champa district’s DMF fund audit has not been conducted since 2018-19.
In two fiscal years, through DMF Rs 23 crore was spent on training, which he said, were all on paper. The 28 percent amount was spent within three days. Several sanctioned works have not yet been completed, he pointed out.
In response, Baghel said that every year the district receives more than Rs 100 crore from DMF. Money is spent as per approval from the District Governing Council.
A purchase order worth Rs 10 crore was issued. The work worth Rs 21 crore was cancelled. The Chhattisgarh Rajya Beej Evam Krishi Vikas Nigam on June 28 placed the order based on its availability and the supply was done. The machines include mini-rice mills.
With the BJP MLAs insisting on irregularities, the Chief Minister announced that stern action would be taken against the officials if they were involved in financial irregularities under the DMF.