Has your chief also made this big mistake? Secret list of tainted Panchayats is being prepared in Bihar Has your village head also committed this major irregularity? A secret list of tainted panchayats is being prepared in Bihar.

There is tremendous turmoil in the rural areas and local politics of Bihar at this time. Very shocking news is coming out from the Panchayati Raj departments of all the districts of the state including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnia. If the head of your village has also been negligent in development work or has not used the government budget properly, then now the problems for him are going to increase a lot. Following the strict orders of the State Government, now a ‘Secret List’ is being prepared of such Panchayats, where complaints of huge irregularities or corruption in government schemes and funds have been received. This time, direct action is going to be taken not only against the Chief but also against the Panchayat Secretaries who were his equal partners in this game.

Panchayati Raj Department became very strict on the instructions of the Chief Minister

In fact, every year a budget of billions of rupees is allocated for rural development and making Panchayats self-reliant in Bihar. But on the ground, complaints of huge allocation in important schemes like Nali-Gali Yojana, Saat Nishchay Yojana and Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali were continuously reaching the government. Taking cognizance of this serious matter, the department has entrusted the responsibility of a special audit and investigation to the District Magistrates (DMs) and District Panchayati Raj Officers (DPROs) of all the districts. Under this investigation, physical verification of all the development works is being done, due to which the heads and secretaries are sweating.

Along with the Chief, major action will be taken against the Panchayat Secretaries also.

In the administrative attitude till now, it was often seen that in cases of financial irregularities, only the head was held accountable, while the government employees playing behind the scenes, i.e. Panchayat Secretaries, were spared. But this time the government has completely changed its strategy. According to the new rules and strict guidelines, if financial irregularities are found in any Panchayat, then along with the head, the Panchayat Secretary posted there will be held equally responsible. The department has made it clear that the secretaries found guilty will not only be suspended, but departmental action will also be taken against them and FIR will also be lodged if necessary.

Secret listing started first in these districts and blocks

According to the information received from the sources, those Panchayats have been placed first on this radar of investigation from where the local villagers had sent written complaints of corruption through the Public Grievance Redressal System or directly to the department. Special Investigation Teams (SITs) are secretly scrutinizing files in several blocks of districts like Patna, Vaishali, Saran, Darbhanga and Arrah. In this listing, cases involving withdrawal of funds without getting the work done in the name of schemes (Paper Work Fraud) and use of substandard construction material have been kept at the top.

There is hope among the villagers, there will be strict control on corrupt practices

As soon as the news of this swift and strict action of the government reached the villages, there was a wave of happiness among the general public. Villagers say that the work of the schemes is negligible on the ground and big things are recorded on paper. With the breaking of this nexus between the head and the secretary, there is now hope for real development in the villages. At present, a list of tainted Panchayats and their public representatives and employees from all the districts is being compiled and sent directly to the Panchayati Raj Department headquarters in Patna, after which an official order for major action can be issued at any time.