Lucknow. The Block Development Officers who illegally withdrew the rural development funds in connivance with the village secretaries are now on the government's radar. During the Panchayat elections in Deoria, between May 5 and 25, 2021, the Block Development Officers, in the role of administrators, withdrew Rs 11 crore in just 20 days. 

In this case, Panchayati Raj Directorate has taken a serious stand, albeit late, and has started the recovery process. Departmental action has been initiated against two officials by ordering recovery of the amount from them. However, the role of 16 then administrators was found suspicious in this case, out of which only two have come under the purview of action so far.

Instructions to District Magistrates for investigation

Panchayati Raj Director Atal Kumar Rai said that the department is serious about this matter. District Magistrates have been directed to investigate the cases related to Block Development Officers who have been in the role of administrators not only in Deoria but in the entire state. 

Here, according to the information provided by the department to RTI activist Sanjay Mishra, Deoria District Magistrate Akhand Pratap Singh has issued a show cause notice to Sanjay Kumar Pandey, the then Project Officer of Gauriganj (Deoria). His current posting is in Unnao. 

Referring to the investigation conducted at the departmental level, it has been said that the amount spent for hand pump repair and India Mark-2 hand pump was withdrawn but the work of repair and reboring was not done. In this case, the then secretary of Gram Panchayat Bhrigusari Shambhusharan Chauhan and Satish Kumar of Gram Panchayat Bardgonia have also been jointly found guilty of embezzlement of Rs 3.62 lakh. 

Along with the recovery of the amount from the then Project Director Sanjay Kumar Pandey, departmental action has also been recommended. In the same case, the recovery of the amount and departmental action has also been recommended from the then Block Development Officer of Barhaj (Deoria), Shashi Pandey. Shashi Pandey is currently posted in Gorakhpur. 

However, Sanjay Mishra is not satisfied with the investigation so far. He says that a cover-up is being done in this case. He has demanded that this case be investigated by the CBI or SIT.

What was the matter

The term of the Panchayat representatives in Deoria ended on 25 December 2020. All the Block Development Officers of the district were appointed as administrators on 31 December 2020 by the District Magistrate of Deoria for the period between the end of the term and the election of the public representatives. 

These administrators were appointed for six months. After the election results of the Gram Panchayats were declared on May 5, 2021, the swearing-in ceremony was scheduled for May 25. The administrators knew who had been elected as the Pradhan in which village, yet they had withdrawn Rs 11 crore from the accounts in various items.