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Flood scam |
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As if the fodder scam was not enough, the Lalu clan got another jolt last week when the country heard reports of a new scam coming out of Bihar during the tenure of Chief Minister Rabri Devi, wife of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
According to a national newspaper which has been publishing details of the scam since last week, money meant for flood relief was misappropriated by different people in the State.
The scam involves crores of rupees and it is alleged that a fake company was paid over Rs. 17 crore for flood relief work when the money was actually meant for a state Government undertaking, the Bihar Small Scale Industries Corporation. The scamsters set up a company with the same initials and the money meant for flood relief was paid into their accounts.
Surprisingly, the scam involves a former bureaucrat named as an Asian hero by Time magazine. Gautam Goswami, who was District Magistrate at the time of the scam, had later quit Government service and joined a private company.
Chief Secretary K.A.H. Subramanian says that he has ordered a vigilance probe into charges that Gautam Goswami and others had illegally diverted over Rs. 17 crores that was meant for providing relief to the victims of last year’s devastating floods in the state. He said if required, a police report would be filed against Goswami and other officers. As the District Magistrate of Patna, Goswami was the nodal officer for flood relief operations.
Time had cited Goswami for his “brilliant work” over the years, notably for coordinating the flood relief and rescue operations last year when hundreds of people were killed and thousands rendered homeless in the floods.
Goswami had quit the IAS and joined a private conglomerate before the scam broke.
Subramanian said the state Government had not accepted Goswami’s resignation and if needed, he would be called back for explaining his position and facing legal formalities.
“The evidence against him prima facie shows he is guilty of irregularities of Rs. 17 crore that was meant for flood relief,” official sources said.
Goswami held a news conference in New Delhi to explain his position. His point of view was that everything he had done was with the full knowledge of his superiors. During the flood relief operations, Goswami said he had daily meetings with the Bihar Chief Secretary, Relief Commissioner and other top bureaucrats. He claimed that there was no misappropriation.
Bihar Governor Buta Singh on the other hand has hinted at a CBI probe into the alleged misappropriation of funds in last year’s flood relief operations. He said in Patna on Wednesday, April 27, that he may order a CBI probe into the scam.
The Centre has also taken note of the flood relief scam and asked Bihar Governor Buta Singh to submit a detailed report on the racket. The Government has asked the State administration to expedite investigation and submit the final and comprehensive report on the scam.
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