Sehore (Madhya Pradesh): The chief executive officer (CEO) of the district Panchayat has issued an order to the Janpad CEO, asking him to register an FIR against those who were involved in a rip-off in building and allotment of shops at Jharkheda village Panchayat. But the FIR has not been registered.

This indicates that efforts are being made to cover up the case. But the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has begun an inquiry into the rip-off and sought reports from additional secretary of the Panchayat Department. Sources in the district Panchayat said former Sarpanch of Jharkheda Savita Vishwakarma and secretary MahonarMewara had 17 shops built in 2017 and 2019.

A few irregularities committed in construction of these shops came to light at a cluster meeting of the Panchayat on March 1 this year. A shopkeeper Kailash who was present at the meeting said that a huge amount had been taken from him, but the receipt he got showed less amount. The administration ordered an inquiry into the case.

In the probe, many financial irregularities came to light. The Rural Engineering Services constructed eight shops for micro enterprises.  There are no records for the land allotted for construction of the shops. There are also no records of technical and administrative approval for the construction work. Apart from that, there are no documents related to the allotment of shops.

Even the records of receipts issued by the Panchayat after allotment of shops were not available anywhere. It also came to light that the MP Panchayatraj and Gram Swaraj Act-1994, was flouted in the allotment of land. The then CEO of the district Panchayat Ashish Tiwari dashed off a letter to the Janpad Panchayat CEO asking him to register an FIR against the Sarpanch and the Secretary.

Issue reaches PMO

The Congress submitted a memorandum to collector Praveen Singh Adhayach and demanded an action against the guilty. A social activist Ajay Paridar from Bhopal made a complaint about the rip-off to the Chief Minister’s Office and Prime Minister’s Office. Former legislator Kunal Choudhary took the government to task through a tweet.