The State on Friday told the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that the case pertaining to the illegal allotment of houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) in Tiruchi district and misappropriation of funds would be transferred to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for further investigation.
A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and L. Victoria Gowri was told by the State that papers would be forwarded to DVAC for appropriate action since government officials were involved in the scam. It was alleged that illegal allotments were made and there was misappropriation of funds.
The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by K. Udhayakumar of Tiruchi district. He had earlier filed a public interest litigation petition alleging illegal allotment of houses under the PMAY-G in Maruthur village in Lalgudi panchayat union.
Taking a serious view of the allegations, the court had directed Tiruchi Collector to appoint verification officers as per a letter issued by the government. The court directed the appointment of officials not below the rank of Revenue Divisional Officer to conduct a detailed verification of records and ascertain the genuineness of allotment of the houses to the beneficiaries.
The court had also directed the Tiruchi Superintendent of Police to take steps to initiate criminal action against the officials of Lalgudi panchayat union who had misappropriated funds for the allotment of houses under the PMAY-G.
The petitioner filed the present contempt petition stating that no proper action had been initiated. In view of the fact that the case was going to be transferred to DVAC for further investigation, the court adjourned the hearing by four weeks.
