RAIPUR: With Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel not hesitating to take prompt action on complaints received against corrupt and negligent officers during his ongoing statewide "Bhet-Mulakat" tour, his cabinet colleague has levelled serious charges against the collector of Korba, one of the highest contributing districts to the DMF fund, citing her as a "corrupt officer, grossly misusing public funds".
State Revenue, Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Minister Jaisingh Agrawal in his complaint had alleged that Korba collector Ranu Sahu was involved in massive corruption through her unilateral non-transparent decisions leading to embezzlement of public (DMF) funds.
Agrawal has shot off a letter highlighting his objections to the Secretary and Nodal officer of the state mining department and DMF seeking his urgent intervention in postponing the upcoming DMF committee meeting called by the collector and "stopping further misuse of public money".
Korba, supplying 16 percent of the total coal production of the country and more than Jharkhand state, is the largest contributor to the DMF kitty with several hundred crores annually.
“The collector is sanctioning works from the DMF fund as per her own wishes that doesn't serve the public interest. Prevent the misuse of public money and initiate appropriate action. There is no transparency regarding the information that needed to be shared on the public domain regarding the approved works allotted by the DMF committee in Korba,” alleged Agrawal.
The minister categorically asserted that the lack of any action by the Secretary will equally suggest his silent consent to the squandering of crores of rupees to the state through embezzlement in the allotted works under the DMF scheme.
The collector couldn't be reached despite repeated attempts nor did she respond to the message texted to her seeking her reaction.
The opposition BJP nevertheless latched on to the minister's complaint to target the state government. “We have brought the issue of massive irregularities in utilisation of DMF funds in Korba district to the knowledge of the Prime Minister's Office, home minister and DoPT urging them to intervene for putting things right. It’s shocking to find the state minister had not just exposed the dishonest practices of the collector but also how corruption ruled the roost in bureaucracy,” said Naresh Gupta, BJP legal cell in charge.