MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ordered the Ramanathapuram district collector to conduct a detailed inquiry regarding financial irregularities at a panchayat and take appropriate action.
S Sugumar, in a petition, said the president of Sevvoor panchayat KC Santha and her family were involved in several financial irregularities. They swindled cash in the name of digging a new well and building a compound wall for a school and claimed to have worked under the MGNREGS and collected money by breaching trust, he added.
In a counter affidavit, the authorities denied the allegations and said guidelines of MGNREGS permit panchayat presidents to get enrolled. Further, it noted there was no substantiated evidence of malpractice. The district collector had filed inspection notes to the court.
Justices D Krishnakumar and L Victoria Gowri before disposing the case directed the collector to conduct a detailed inquiry and take appropriate action.