Sub-standard eatables supplied to Kathua Anganwadi centres
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: District Programme Officer (DPO), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Project Kathua along with seven Child Development Programme Officers (CDPOs), various suppliers have been booked for purchasing substandard eatables including nutrition/non-nutrition items for the below poverty line children at exorbitant rates.
The scandal was unearthed during joint surprise check conducted by the Poonch- Rajouri- Kathua wing of State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) into the allegations of irregularities for purchase of nutrition/ non-nutrition items in the ICDS Project Kathua.
It has been revealed that during the year 2014-15, Ravinder Nath Sadhu, the then District Programme Officer, ICDS Project Kathua in connivance with CDPOs of ICDS Project District Kathua, identified as Sushma Gupta, Mukhtiyar Ahmed, Syeeda Parveen, Kulraj Singh, Neelam Bala, Rajeev Kumar and Satish Sharma under a well planned conspiracy have purchased substandard nutrition / non nutrition items under ICDS project for distribution to various Anganwadi Centres of Kathua District.
During scrutiny of records it was found that the excess supply orders for purchase of nutrition items were placed against the actual requirement for ulterior motive in order to give undue favour to the supplier firms.
On the other hand, in view of escalation of market rate of some items, PO, ICDS Project placed supply orders of less quantity against the actual requirement. Moreover, the items which were supplied were also found sub-standard and no penal proceedings initiated against supplier firms in order to confer undue favours/benefits to the supplier firm thereby causing huge loss to the government funds.
Similarly, the above mentioned public servants in connivance with supplier firms and others, with criminal intentions, purchased non-nutritional items at their own level without adopting any codal formalities, beyond their competence and in violation to government directions issued from time to time thereby misappropriating and causing huge loss to the Government money meant for the weaker sections of the society.
FIR 26/2016 has been registered in Vigilance Organisation, Jammu under section 5(2) P.C Act 2006 read with Section 120-B, 420-A, 467, 468 and 471 RPC on the prima facie establishment of offences on the part of the aforementioned accused public servants.
