Panchayat president in TN booked for misappropriating Rs 49 lakh meant for MGNREGA scheme

COIMBATORE: Sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has booked the panchayat president of Maruthur village in Coimbatore district on charges of misappropriating Rs 49 lakh from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme.
The DVAC received information that Maruthur panchayat president R Poornima, 40, had misappropriated money released under the MGNREGA scheme in the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22.
It is the duty of the panchayat president to find the eligible beneficiaries and issue job cards under MGNREGA scheme. An inquiry conducted by the sleuths revealed that she had distributed job cards to ineligible people. One of the names against whom the card was issued had died 40 years ago.
A source said a detailed inquiry found that seven people against whose names job cards were distributed, were found to be employed having either private or government jobs. She also issued job cards in the names of three ward members in the same panchayat. Two of the names on the beneficiary list were her brothers Rajkumar and Sridhar.
Poornima issued job cards to 1,878 beneficiaries. It was found that at least 319 of them were ineligible. The source added that she had received money deposited in the beneficiary accounts.
The DVAC said the panchayat president misappropriated Rs 20,01,918 during 2020-21 and Rs 29,49,085 during 2021-22.
She was booked under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.