THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau will recommend to the state government to conduct a full-fledged auditing of the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) spending every six months. The move comes in the wake of Vigilance raids unearthing widespread irregularities and misuse of the relief fund, with several ineligible people receiving aid.
In a bid to make the process fool-proof, the Vigilance will also suggest starting a special team in all 14 collectorates to check the authenticity of the requests seeking financial aid. It will also recommend to the government to take action against the officials, who helped ineligible people get aid from the CMDRF.
Vigilance director ADGP Manoj Abraham said the extent of fraud committed in availing aid from CMDRF is very big and it is impossible for the Vigilance sleuths to examine each case where financial help was given. “It was during random checks that we came across severe irregularities. That means the actual number of such cases will be very high. Hence, we will recommend to the state government to conduct auditing of the CMDRF spending every six months to ensure that only eligible beneficiaries get the support,” Manoj said.
Meanwhile, more irregularities began tumbling out of the closets in the Vigilance raids conducted on Thursday and Friday. In Neyyattinkara taluk, it was found that 20 people got help from the CMDRF following the intervention of a person from Karode.
Vigilance unearths more irregularities
A person who took a day’s treatment for appendicitis used the document to avail of aid for heart ailments. In the Varkala taluk office, it was found that six applications were sent using the phone number of an agent.
In West Kallada in Kollam, a person, whose house was still intact, was given `4 lakh over a claim that 76% of his house suffered damage in a natural disaster. The house owner told Vigilance that he did not give the application nor did government officials come for site inspection. The amount credited in his account still remained untouched, he told Vigilance sleuths. In Kollam, financial aid was given to several applicants who failed to provide relevant documents.
In Karunagappally taluk, it was found that in 13 out of 18 applications, medical certificates were issued by a doctor of the Karunagappally chest hospital. Of these, six certificates were issued to members of the same household.
In Thodiyoor village in Kollam, the handwriting in several applications appeared to be the same. In Koodal village in Pathanamthitta, the same phone number was marked in 268 applications received from 2018-2022.
In Enadimangalam village in Pathanamthitta, 61 applications bore a single phone number. In Alappuzha, out of 14 applications examined, medical certificates in 10 cases were found to have been issued by the same doctor. He also issued nine medical certificates to different patients on a single day. Former village officers of Kondoor in Kottayam, Anicadu in Pathanamthitta, Erumeli North in Pathanamthitta and Njezhoor in Kottayam were found to have issued certificates without conducting proper examination, resulting in several ineligible persons receiving financial help.
In Thodupuzha taluk, 70 applications filed from 2001 to 2023 were found to be filed from a single Akshaya centre and all of them bore the same contact number.
In Alathur village in Palakkad, out of 78 applications filed, certificates in 54 cases were filed by an ayurveda doctor. Two other doctors gave certificates for the rest of the cases. All these doctors were employed in a private hospital. In Thalakulathur village in Kozhikode, son of a Non-resident Keralite was sanctioned Rs 3 lakh for treatment, while `25,000 was sanctioned for treatment of a government officer’s mother.
Other recommendations
To start a special team in all 14 collectorates to check the authenticity of the requests seeking financial aid
To take action against the officials, who helped ineligible people get aid from the CMDRF