Shoe scandal
Zilla Panchayat members on Tuesday alleged that officials had swindled money meant for purchase of shoes for schoolchildren and sought an inquiry.
They also took objection to the delay by the government in initiating action against officers who were found to be involved in financial irregularities in purchase and distribution of shoes to schoolchildren in the district last year. Some members said they would not accept the report of an inquiry by officials into the issue and sought inquiry by an independent agency.
Member Shankar Madalgi raised the issue in the general body meeting. He alleged that some Education Department officials had raised bills of Rs. 270 per pair of shoes that were actually worth only Rs. 70. Members of different parties supported him and got into the well of the house. They shouted slogans against officials and demanded an inquiry by the Lokayukta or the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
‘No action’
Mr. Madalgi said he had been complaining about the irregularities for a year now. “ZP former Chief Executive Officer Gautam Bagadi took no action, despite the whole house demanding action against officers last year. Even now there is no action. What is this?,” he questioned. He said that he had no faith in the report submitted by district officers. He alleged that senior officers were trying to protect some officers who were involved in corruption.
According to him, the allocation for a pair of shoes and two sets of socks was Rs. 225 for primary students, Rs. 250 for higher primary and Rs. 275 for high school students. “The government released around Rs. 5 crore for the scheme for Belagavi district. Officers have spent all the money, but supplied low quality shoes that will not cost more than Rs 70,” he alleged.
A reply by CEO R. Ramachandran that he will order an inquiry by a committee of officers did not satisfy the members. They kept on demanding an inquiry by a State-level team of ACB or Lokayukta. The din subsided after Mr. Ramachandran said that he would not spare anyone found guilty of corruption. “We have the report already. We have sent it to the Commissioner for Public Instruction and we are waiting for a response. We will definitely act on it’’, Mr. Ramachandran said.
