Scam busted in Mukhya Mantri Gruh Awas Yojana in Vadodara

Vadodara: In a recently emerged scam in the distribution of accommodations under Mukhya Mantri Gruh Awas Yojana by affordable housing cell of Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), total 42 names of the beneficiaries in the list uploaded on the VMC’s website were different than the names in the original list presented in the draw.

Navapura Police has held Executive Engineer (Class-1) Pramod Vasava and contract-based MIS (management information system) expert Nishith Pithva of Affordable Housing Cell of VMC in this scam. The accused MIS-expert Nishith Pithva had uploaded a list of the beneficiaries of the draw on VMC website in which 42 names were changed from the actual list with a stamp of VMC. When city-engineer Shailesh Mistry asked him for clarification, he claimed that executive engineer Pramod Vasava had sent him a list through mobile-phone and asked him to upload the same list instead of the original list which caused the difference in both lists.

A draw of 382 accommodations was held on ‘Vikas Divas’ on 7th August in Sayaji Nagargruh in the virtual presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Vijay Rupani. A police complaint was filed for the scam in distribution of EWS, LID, MIG accommodations of Sayajipura, Harni, Gotri, Vasna, Atladara, Tandalja and Sama worth Rs 18.36 crores. Total 42 names were changed in the list of 156 beneficiaries uploaded on the website than the actual list presented in the draw. Moreover, the number of the accommodation allotted to more than 10 beneficiaries were also changed in that list.

The deputy municipal commissioner has dismissed Nishith Pithva from his job. The administration will give a proposal of suspending the executive engineer Pramod Vasava to the standing committee. The police commissioner has handed over the further investigation to the crime-branch from Navapura police in this scam.

The city-engineer Shailesh Mistry had instructed to stick the original list with the stamp of VMC in the draw at Sayaji Nagargruh on 7th August but such list was not put in the draw and another list was directly uploaded in the VMC website after 3 hours. That list remained on the website on 7th, 8th and 9th August. Later, Mayor Keyur Rokadiya, city-engineer Shailesh Mistry and Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agarwal had received complaints about the mistake in the draw. The list was then removed from the website after suspicion of a scam. DeshGujarat