KAZIRANGA, June 2 - Soon after the issue of misappropriation of funds by two panchayat blocks of Kaliabor subdivision under Nagaon district came into the notice of authority concerned, the local subdivisional administration conducted raids at these two panchayat offices and seized documents besides apprehending one Habibur Rahman after recovery of incriminating documents and an office stamp and seal from his possession.
According to an official source, the local subdivisional administration of Kaliabor through its vigilance committee made inspections at many panchayat blocks after receiving allegations of misuse of job cards and panchayat funds meant for the poor and backward sections of the society. Later it was discovered that not a single social audits were done in the Borguri and Kuthori panchayats blocks since 2013. Proper monitoring of schemes also has not been done.
Even the mandatory rules and regulations under MNREGA Act were not followed by the panchayat officials and panchayat committee members resulting in a total mess. �This was a clear case of violation of MNREGA Act and there was serious procedural lapses where lakhs of rupees were misused. After hours of review, it was found that official records were not maintained properly as per government�s mandatory rules. The job cards which ought to have been distributed among the beneficiaries, were not distributed. Rather, they were kept under the custody of middlemen for their own vested interests. Necessary information and records were not submitted by the panchayat blocks to the higher authority, which is a mandatory process. So we have decided to take appropriate action against these people,� said an official of the local administration.
He added that matter would be apprised to the higher authority immediately.
