Predators are wild and ferocious but not shrewd and scheming like man. For M.A. Waheed, who was managing wildlife all long, it will be a tad difficult administering the scam-hit A.P. State Minorities Finance Corporation (APSMFC).
But he is not worried at all, but rather emboldened to take the bull by the horn. The transition from Deputy Conservator of Forests to the managing director of APSMFC is challenging but Mr. Waheed is not unequal to the task.
Clear ideas
“My first priority is to regain the confidence of the people which is shaken by the scam,” says the Indian Forest Officer of the 1999 batch.
Mr. Waheed has clear cut ideas how to go about the job. His immediate task is to restore the normal functioning of the corporation affected by the fraud. “The Rs. 55.47 crore scam has not hampered our functioning. We have enough finances to continue all the schemes,” that’s the message he wants to send across.
Soon after assuming charge on Friday, Mr. Waheed sat late into the night to know the nitty-gritty of the issues on hand. On Saturday he held a meeting with bankers to get a handle on the financial position.
How does he propose to prevent financial irregularities in future? “Well, I plan to closely monitor all monetary dealings and have a periodic check of the bank accounts,” says Mr Waheed.
He has decided to constitute a special cell to fast track the redressal of grievances. This is part of his plan to boost the confidence of the minorities shattered by the recent fraud. He wants to ensure that the scholarships which remain to be disbursed are given away at the earliest.
Till date the corporation has disbursed Rs. 256 crore towards pre-matric and post-matric scholarships of the State government besides Rs. 45 crore under the Government of India scheme for post-matric and merit-cum-means scheme.
The beneficiaries are close to 2.60 lakh students.
The scholarships of some students have been held up for want of bank account, bonafide and other such details. “We will ensure that they get their scholarships by next fortnight,” Mr. Waheed said. He further wants to concentrate on the placement-linked Rajiv Yuva Kiranalu scheme. Right now training is being imparted to 1,400 minority youth in para-medical, computer applications and fashion designing courses in the districts of Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Guntur, Nizamabad, Kurnool and Kadapa.
The corporation targets to cover 9,000 minority youths under the scheme.
