KOLKATA: Calcutta High Court on Thursday took strong exception to what it called a “deliberate fraud” at a Canning gram panchayat over the disbursal of PMAY funds to five beneficiaries in Itkhola-1 village.
Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur directed the block development officer and the panchayat pradhan to submit their bank account numbers to court. Justice Kapur also told the Itkhola gram panchayat secretary, a govt servant, to lodge FIRs against the suspects and begin criminal proceedings.
“It’s a deliberate fraud,” Justice Kapur observed after perusing the report by the state, which submitted that funds for the five beneficiaries were deposited in the bank accounts of others.
The state said the first instalment of PMAY funds meant for two beneficiaries was deposited in other accounts, while for three, the entire disbursement was parked in accounts of others.
Petitioner Sirajul Mandal and four others had applied for PMAY funds in 2021.
After a long wait, they approached the Itkhola-1 gram panchayat. The local gram panchayat authorities told them their funds had not come because they were not eligible for the central scheme.
The five then moved the HC in 2023, seeking a probe by an independent agency.
