DVAC finds Rs 1 crore swindling in LED purchase by panchayat

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption is probing a case in which three former BDOs and two traders allegedly connived and swindled more than Rs 1 crore in connection with the purchase of LED lamps for a panchayat union in Dharmapuri.

The three accused officials who were working in Pappireddipatti panchayat union were identified as M Anandan, A Madhalaimuthu and M Jayaraman, while the traders who listed as the accused in the DVAC FIR are G Mathivanan of Salem and NP Kumar from Dharmapuri.

As per the Panchayat Raj Rules, the panchayat union council has the authority to sanction works that does not cost more than Rs 10 lakh. If it is more than that threshold, it should be taken up only after inviting a tender.

In 2016-17, BDO Anandan decided to buy four mini mast lamps using Rs 1.33 crore fund that was sanctioned for the panchayat. As the amount is more than the Rs 10 lakh cap, he split the work to avoid calling for an open tender and invited quotations from traders. The work was subsequently allotted to Kumar.

The next year, Madhalaimuthu, the new BDO, decided to procure 63 more mini mast lamps using the Rs 4.15 crore allotted to the civic body, and awarded work to Kumar and Mathivanan. Jayaraman, the next VAO who assumed office of BDO after Madhalaimuthu, too, continued to follow the same modus operandi, said the DVAC.

Though Kumar’s business raised Rs 1.31 crore as revenue from these works, he had declared his turnover only as Rs 30.98 lakh in the document submitted to the Commercial Tax Department. Based on these details, DVAC concluded that the five accused had conspired together and misappropriated the amount.