'Misuse' of Irani's MPLADS funds: Co-op society denies allegations
- Country:
- India
A cooperative society accused of misusing the MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds of Union minister Smriti Irani Thursday told the Gujarat High Court that it was not involved in any wrongdoing. The high court is hearing a PIL filed by Congress leader Amit Chavda alleging misuse of Irani's MPLADS funds.
The Sharda Majoor Kamdar Sahkari Mandli (SMKSM) contended in an affidavit that some of the works awarded to it were not completed due to technical reasons, but most of the works, including laying of paver blocks or road construction, in Anand district were finished in time. As the petitioner's lawyer Anand Yagnik sought time to go through the affidavit, a division bench of acting Chief Justice A S Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav adjourned the hearing to June 21.
The state government has attached SMKSM's bank account and issued a notice for recovery of Rs 4 crore, the affidavit said, adding that the charges levelled against the organisation were "politically motivated". The state government had informed the court earlier that it had served charge sheets to three government officials, including the district planning officer of Anand, for not following rules in the utilisation of Irani's MPLADS funds.
As a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, Irani has adopted Anand as the nodal district for use of her MPLADS funds. Citing a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Chavda alleged that Irani was involved in "corruption and misuse of funds in collusion with other state and non- state actors".
The Gujarat State Rural Development Corporation (GSRDCL), implementing agency for her MPLAD schemes, continued to receive funds even after it was closed down by the government in August 2015, the PIL alleged. Every MP can utilise Rs 5 crore annually as MPLADS funds. The money is released to the district authority.
The PIL alleged that the GSRDCL allotted works to SMKSM, Kheda, "without following any proper procedure and in complete violation of MPLADS guidelines".
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