BENGALURU: Ahead of Valmiki Jayanti celebrations, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the state government will release the entire amount allocated to the Valmiki ST Welfare Corporation.
He said there has been misappropriation of Rs 89.63 crore, of which Rs 5 crore has already been retrieved and Rs 71.54 crore has been recovered. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has informed the government that they will get back the remaining Rs 13 crore. “With this, the complete amount will be recovered,” he said.
The CM said that as the case is before the court, the state government will take action as per the court’s order. He added that many have raised concerns over the allocation of grants by the corporation which is dogged by irregularities.
The CM said he has directed social welfare department officials to put out a circular on issuing ST certificates as officials have flagged the issue of fake certificates. He said there is some confusion over getting ST certificates and the circular will clarify and resolve these issues.
The ST corporation misappropriation case had created a ruckus in both Houses of the legislature. The money allotted to the corporation was diverted to other banks and the issue came to light after the account superintendent of the Corporation Chandrashekaran mentioned the name of then backward classes minister B Nagendra in his suicide note. Nagendra was arrested and he got bail on Monday.