Even officials were stunned by the public representatives’ harsh attitude at what was likely the final meeting of the Triveniganj Panchayat Samiti. The way the Panchayat representatives, in the final meeting of five years, not only rebuked their own officer, openly exposed his activities, especially commission-grabbing, but also warned him to desist from corruption, certainly stunned officials.
The incident occurred during a Panchayat Samiti meeting held on Wednesday at the Swachhata Bhawan located in the block office. Chaired by Block Chief Kajal Kumari, the meeting saw members create a ruckus over public interest issues, corruption in the zonal office, illegal extortion at Anganwadi centers, and fertilizer blackmarketing, and demanded action against the responsible officials.
However, it seems that the newly appointed Block Development Officer Parmanand Prasad had some apprehensions beforehand, as a result of which he appealed to the members present in the meeting to express their views in a dignified manner. However, during the debate on issues to public interest, when committee member Ashok Yadav and head of Koriapatti East Panchayat Rajesh Yadav started having heated arguments with each other, some officers were happy for a few moments, but their happiness vanished after some time. The BDO, Deputy Chief, other officers and Police Station Head Rakesh Kumar present on the spot intervened and calmed both of them down. The members expressed deep dissatisfaction with the officers who were absent from the meeting and demanded action.
Zonal office has become a hub of brokerage and corruption
Mukhiya Rajesh Kumar, Panchayat Samiti members Mohammad Jahangir and Bodhi Yadav raised serious questions about the functioning of the Zonal Office, particularly about CO Priyanka Singh. The members openly alleged that corruption has reached its peak in the Zonal Office since the appointment of Zonal Officer Priyanka Singh. Each Halka employee has four to five private illegal clerks working for them, who act as brokers. Work such as revision, mutation, and land measurement cannot be done without a bribe. In response, CO Priyanka Singh stated that in the case of account number 278 (non-cultivated khas) located in Latona under Police Station number 273, some farmers had fraudulently obtained LPCs and withdrawn funds. A letter has been written to the DCLR for Jamabandi fragmentation in this regard.
Anger over extortion from Anganwadi
The members attacked the Anganwadi workers, saying that the Child Development Project Officer and the female supervisor are openly collecting ₹2,500 per Anganwadi center from the block’s 364. This means that an illegal business worth ₹10 lakh is underway. Most of the centers are run from the workers’ homes, and widespread corruption is taking place in the distribution of nutrition.
The members did not even spare the SDM.
Several members accused the Public Distribution System of providing half a kilogram of food grains per unit to beneficiaries. Attacking the Sub-Divisional Officer and Block Supply Officer, they alleged that the Supply Department was charging dealers a commission of 35 rupees per quintal and that 5 lakh rupees were being collected from the allocation of 13,000 quintals of grain. The allegations against the SDM shocked the officials, and they all looked at each other. Members alleged that the distribution of food grains to the Triveniganj SFC warehouse by his personal assistant instead of the AGM was a serious matter and demanded action. They stated that the AGM was in charge of loading the Triveniganj warehouse, along with the additional charge of the Pipra warehouse. His arrogance was evident from the fact that he kept away from the meeting despite being informed, which would not be tolerated.
Fertilizer black marketing and raids
The members alleged that urea is available at Biscoman for Rs 266 and mixture for Rs 1455, whereas in the open market it is being sold for Rs 400 to 500 and Rs 1900 to 2200. Despite the availability of fertilizer in government warehouses, black marketing is being done by creating artificial shortage. Even the subsidized seeds meant for farmers are not reaching the common farmers. As soon as the meeting ended, the BAO inspected several shops, which created panic among the fertilizer shopkeepers.
BPRO was praised
Interestingly, while various departments were criticized, members openly praised the current BPRO and Block Education Officer, Manish Kumar Meenu. Members stated that since his arrival, the general public has not had to worry about office- work.
On the matter, BDO and Executive Officer, Parmanand Prasad, stated that all complaints regarding ration cuts, commission-taking in Anganwadis, and fertilizer blackmarketing have been registered. An impartial investigation will be conducted into all these cases, and strict legal action will be taken against employees and officers found guilty.
These were present in the meeting
In the meeting, Deputy Chief Omprakash Guddu, Block Agriculture Officer Nitish Kumar, Program Officer Vibhesh Kumar, In-charge CDPO Bharti Kumari, Block Supply Officer Neha Kumari, Junior Electrical Engineer Rakesh Kumar, BPRO Manish Kumar Meenu, Health Manager S. Adeeb Ahmed, Panchayat Samiti members Jahangir Alam, Bodhi Yadav, Ashok Yadav, Mohammad Jameel, Mukhiya Pandav Paswan, Ramanand Yadav, Rajesh Yadav and other public representatives and officials were present.
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