NDTV Impact: Ghost Employee Alert Triggers Statewide Audit in Madhya Pradesh
After an explosive report by NDTV on the possibility of thousands of "ghost employees" in Madhya Pradesh, based on a letter from the state treasury, the government has finally responded with an extensive data cleansing drive. The letter from the state treasury, dated May 23, raised alarm over thousands of government employees who had not drawn salaries from the official IFMIS (Integrated Financial Management Information System) since December 2024. Yet, the portal still has active employee codes.
In response, the State Financial Intelligence Cell (SFIC)-under the Commissioner of Treasury and Accounts (CTA)-conducted an extensive audit of the treasury database in coordination with DDOs (Drawing and Disbursing Officers) and treasury officers across the state. The exercise aimed to identify inactive employees and update the IFMIS system accordingly.
The government now claims that no fake or suspicious employee has been found so far, but the details revealed by the cleansing drive paint a more complex and worrying picture. As per the report, a total of 44,918 employees - 36,081 regular and 8,837 non-regular - have not withdrawn salaries via IFMIS in more than six months. When broken down by status, the numbers reveal this: Out of the 44,918 employees, 21,461 were found to be dead (19,533 regular and 1,928 non-regular), while 4,654 employees were on deputation (4,436 regular and 178 non-regular). Another 10,985 had either retired, resigned, opted for voluntary retirement, or had their services terminated. 483 were suspended without salary, and 1,656 employees had their salaries withheld due to official government directives. In addition, 2,342 were placed in the 'Free Pool', meaning they were unassigned after transfers or status changes. Technical issues accounted for 1,022 employees, and 2,247 employees were linked to miscellaneous cases, including bonded doctors, grant-in-aid institutions, or PRI contractual staff.
Despite these seemingly legitimate classifications, none of the employee codes were deactivated, and exit procedures had not been completed in IFMIS. This means these accounts remain active in the system, vulnerable to misuse, and - if left unchecked - could be exploited for unauthorised or backdated salary withdrawals.
NDTV's Earlier Report Raised Alarm Bells
NDTV had earlier exposed how nearly 50,000 government employees were "missing" from the salary grid, despite their codes being active. The report, based on the same May 23 memo, suggested that the situation could escalate into one of the biggest ghost employee scandals in the state's history. The value of unpaid salaries linked to these ghost-like entries was estimated to be around Rs 230 crore.
When NDTV confronted Finance Minister Jagdish Devda, his response was evasive: "Whatever process is followed, it is done according to rules." When asked if such a situation posed a risk to the system, he simply repeated, "Whatever happens, will be according to rules... okay... fine," before abruptly ending the conversation.
Although the government has denied the existence of any fraudulent employees, the very architecture of the payroll system has been exposed as vulnerable. Codes remain active despite death, resignation, retirement, suspension, or deputation. Without proper flagging or exit entries, these dormant identities could be reactivated with malicious intent.
The government says this is part of a continuous cleansing process that will pave the way for a more robust IFMIS NextGen rollout.
But One Question Remains - While the system may not have found its ghost just yet, the shadow of systemic failure still hangs heavy over Madhya Pradesh's treasury, and NDTV will keep reporting until every name, every code, and every rupee is accounted for.
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