KENDRAPARA: A panchayat executive officer of Kuranti Gram Panchayat was suspended on Saturday for misappropriating funds under the Harishchandra Sahayata Yojana. The Block Development Officer (BDO) of Rajnagar block in Kendrapara district suspended Chandan Das for falsely putting 11 living persons on the ‘dead’ list.
On Thursday, several persons of the panchayat brought to the BDO’s notice the alleged scam where living persons were shown as dead, after which the administration launched an investigation. Harishchandra Sahayata Yojana was launched by the State government four years back for the poor who could not afford the cremation expenses of their kin. Under this scheme, the government provided `2,000 to the family of a dead person.
“During the investigation, we came to know that the panchayat executive officer had misappropriated funds under the Harischandra Sahayak Yojana by falsely describing 11 living persons as dead for which he has been suspended,” BDO Rabindra Pradhan said.