Five officials dismissed for Rs 2.59cr-MGNREGA scam in Punjab

The Punjab government on Wednesday ordered dismissal of five employees of the Rural Development Department for their alleged involvement in the Rs 2.59 crore-MGNREGA scam. The orders were issued by the state Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, according to an official statement.

The minister also directed the police to register a case against block assistant project directors Harpreet Singh and Dalip Kumar (Gidderbaha), Rajnish Sharma and Meena Sharma (Ferozpur), and Charanjit Singh (Ghal). Another accused identified as Assistant Project Director Yadwinder Singh, who was also allegedly involved in the case, has already resigned, the statement said.

These employees had been under the scanner for allegedly making fake payments and indulging in other irregularities in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme. Bajwa reiterated that strict action would be taken against anyone found involved in corrupt practices in the implementation of all the schemes.

He also asked the senior officials to probe the implementation of the scheme in each block.