Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday registered a case against engineers of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and office bearers of an NGO, M/S Social Welfare of India and conducted searches at Jammu and Srinagar, in a case of “embezzlement of public money.”
A statement said a joint surprise check was conducted to look into the allegations of fraud, corruption and embezzlement of public money by the NGO and officers and officials of the SMC in construction of individual household latrine (IHHLs) units under Swatch Bharat Mission
The statement said it was established that vide an agreement, 218 IHHLs at Rs 17490 per unit and nine twin storage pits at Rs 12,000 per twin storage pit were to be constructed by the NGO.
The statement said citing the work done the NGO submitted a completion certificate along with the list of beneficiaries.
The statement said the Commissioner SMC got the matter verified through engineering wing of the SMC which submitted physical verification report to the Commissioner that the IHHL units and twin storage pits have been constructed as per SBM/SMC guidelines, subsequent to which Rs 38,81,612 was released in favour of the NGO.
The statement said it came to the fore that not a single unit has been constructed by the NGO and engineering wing of SMC submitted false completion/verification report.
“The officers/officials of SMC in league with the NGO by sheer abuse of their official positions and for their own pecuniary benefits submitted false completion/verifications report,” said the statement.
Accordingly, the statement said the case (FIR N012/2020) was registered in the ACB Srinagar branch against the officers/officials of the SMC including then Executive Engineer, Maroof Ahmad, then Junior Engineer, Javaid Iqbal Shah, and office bearers of the NGO including Zaheer Abbas Bhatti, Director M/S Social Welfare of India) and Ishrat Ashraf Shah, General Secretary of the NGO.
Today, the statement said, in compliance to court order, searches were conducted in residential houses/offices of the accused and incriminating material was recovered. “The investigation of the case is going on,” said the statement.