COIMBATORE: District grievance officer (ombudsperson) of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has recommended to district collector Kranthi Kumar Pati to take action against Arisipalayam panchayat president S Ganesan of the DMK and secretary Jamuna Devi for misappropriating Rs 1.68 lakh.
According to sources, between October 27, 2021 and April 27, 2022, Ganesan passed a resolution and got administration sanction (AS) from the Block Development Officer (BDO) to create a farm pond at a farmland within Arisipalayam at a cost of Rs 1,04,192.
However, a small pit was created which allegedly cost around Rs 2,000 at Nachipalayam which is located adjacent to Arisipalayam and installed a plaque mentioning the completion of the project. Likewise, he allegedly misappropriated Rs 64,000 in another work in the nearby Nachipalayam.
Based on a complaint from DMK ward member P Kalimuthu, on May 2023, ombudsperson of MGNREGS of Coimbatore district P.Navaneetha Krishnan held an inspection and found irregularities in the use of MGNREGS funds.
“Collector can take action against panchayat president under the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act 1994 ( Tamil Nadu Act 21 of 1994) Chapter X -Controlling the authorities 203, 204. Department action should be initiated against the panchayat secretary who gave the financial estimate and approval letter for the works with the help of the block engineer and block development officer (BDO),” Navaneetha Krishnan said.
Further, he recommended to the collector to lodge a police complaint if the two fail to return `1,68,192 to the government. Meanwhile, D Rajeswari, vice president of Arisipalayam panchayat, sent a petition to Chief Minister MK Stalin demanding action against Ganesan stating his actions tarnished the image of the DMK.