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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
50,000 govt employees ‘not paid', Madhya Pradesh begins probe
The Madhya Pradesh government has started investigating allegations that salaries of 50,000 government employees have not been paid for over six months as the finance department said it has begun a verification excercise. These employees have employee codes, but their salaries have not been drawn, raising suspicion about potential irregularities. The Commissioner of Treasury and Accounts (CTA) had on May 23 asked the Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) to investigate the matter. The finance department said in a statement that the verification of data for both regular and non-regular employees is a 'continuous process', carried out through the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) software. The exercise is being led by the Office of the Commissioner, Treasury and Accounts, which has issued multiple instructions to treasury and disbursing officers to confirm the accuracy of employee records. 'All treasury, drawing and disbursing officers have been directed from time to time to verify employee data through official correspondence,' said an official from the commissioner's office. The state-level Financial Intelligence Cell (SFIC), functioning under the Commissioner of Treasury and Accounts, regularly analyses data from treasuries and monitors salary disbursement trends. According to officials, the SFIC recently scrutinised records of nearly 50,000 employees whose salaries have not been drawn through the treasury software in the past four months. 'In such cases, verification of employee details has been mandated through the respective drawing and disbursing officers,' read a directive issued by the Commissioner. 'This is a continuous process undertaken periodically by the office.' A review of data from December 2024 revealed further potential irregularities. 'There are employees with valid employee codes whose retirement dates have not been entered, and the exit process in IFMIS has not been completed, yet no salary has been withdrawn for four months,' the department said. In light of these findings, treasury officials have been asked to share relevant data with DDOs and obtain written confirmation within 15 days, including reasons for the salary stoppages. 'The details received from DDOs will be submitted to the Commissioner's office,' the directive noted. 'If any discrepancies are found during data verification, immediate reports must be sent through the Divisional Joint Director, Treasury and Accounts.' Officials maintained that the scrutiny of employee data is not an isolated audit, but rather 'a standard and ongoing administrative process aimed at maintaining transparency and accuracy in the state's financial systems'.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
50,000 'Ghost' Employees And Rs 230 Crore Salary Scam In Madhya Pradesh
Bhopal: The salaries of 50,000 government employees, that is nearly nine per cent of Madhya Pradesh's government taskforce, have not been paid for over six months. It is a mystery buried deep in the state's bureaucratic files, but it may be one of the biggest salary scams in Madhya Pradesh's history. NDTV has accessed documents revealing that these employees exist in official documents. They have an identity -- name and employee code -- but for some reason, their salaries have not been processed for nearly six months. Are these employees on unpaid leave? Are they suspended? Or are they simply 'ghost' employees? Unfolding The Salary Scam NDTV has obtained a letter dated May 23, sent by the Commissioner of Treasury and Accounts (CTA) to all Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs). The letter is a call to investigate a startling anomaly. "The data of Regular / Non-Regular employees under IFMIS, whose salaries have not been drawn since December 2024, is enclosed... although employee codes exist, their verification is incomplete in IFMIS, and the Exit process hasn't been done either." Following the letter, over 6,000 DDOs are under scanner and have been asked to explain the possible Rs 230 crore fraud in 15 days. The timeline will be over today. "We conduct data analysis regularly and this discrepancy was observed. I further clarify unambiguously that its not that salary is being drawn against these accounts. This inquiry tries to curb the risk of probable embezzlement which may occur," Commissioner of Treasury and Accounts Bhaskar Lakshkar told NDTV. The treasury department has launched a statewide verification drive, ordering every DDO to certify that no unauthorised employee is working in their office. "There could be genuine cases - transfers, suspensions... But if someone hasn't received salary for six months straight, and their exit isn't processed either, that's a red flag," said a senior finance official. Finance Minister Cornered NDTV approached Madhya Pradesh's Finance Minister Jagdish Devda with the facts. When confronted with the question: "50,000 salaries not drawn for months. Why?" Mr Devda appeared visibly uncomfortable and said, "Well... whatever process is followed, it is done according to rules." When asked again whether this could be a problem in the future, he repeated - "Whatever happens, will be according to rules... okay... fine." And then, without another word, he walked back inside. Large-Scale Fraud Or Ghost Postings: Why We Need To Get To The Bottom Of It Of the 50,000 employees who haven't been paid, 40,000 are regular employees and 10,000 are temporary staff. Collectively, their salaries mount up to Rs 230 crore. Since salaries haven't been drawn for months, suspicions of a large-scale fraud or ghost postings are growing stronger. Where are Rs 230 crore? If even a fraction of these 50,000 are ghost employees, it raises troubling questions: Who is manipulating the system? Can salaries be backdated and withdrawn without checks? Has the government unknowingly allowed space for a Rs 230 crore scam to fester? Are these 50,000 positions open? If yes, how has been departments functioning without 9 per cent of its staff? A lot of questions remain to be answered as this scam unfolds layer by layer. Though, in a display of timely vigilance, the state's treasury flagged a potential discrepancy during a routine data audit - and in doing so, may have averted a major financial risk. The objective of the investigation is simple yet crucial - to verify whether ghost employees are quietly lurking in the system.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Time of India
Snakebite scam of Rs 11.26 crore exposed in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh; what really happened will leave you speechless
A shocking financial scam involving fake death compensation claims has been uncovered in Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh, known as the setting for Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Investigations reveal that between 2018 and 2022, a carefully planned fraud used fake deaths from natural causes like snakebites, drowning, or lightning strikes to steal public funds. One of the most striking discoveries is that a man was recorded as dying 30 times from snakebites, and a woman 29 times. These fake deaths were used to claim compensation, totalling an estimated Rs 11.26 crore from the state government. Authorities are now probing how the fraudulent claims bypassed multiple levels of verification, highlighting serious loopholes in the compensation system that allowed the scam to go undetected for years. Snakebite scam of 11.26-crore exposed by Joint Director of Jabalpur The finance department discovered in its findings that the mastermind of the scam is Assistant Grade III staff Sachin Dahayak. The investigation, conducted by Rohit Kaushal, Joint Director (Finance) of the Jabalpur division, started with the examination of the financial documents of the Keolari tehsil and then uncovered the extent of the fraud in a later stage. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Device Made My Power Bill Drop Overnight elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Pre-Order Undo "An 11.26-crore scam has surfaced. The money was deposited into the bank accounts of 47 people, including family members, friends, and acquaintances of Dahayak," Kaushal said. Instead of money being deposited directly into accounts of genuine recipients, it was diverted into personal accounts of unrelated people—a sign of a carefully planned and orchestrated fraud. Snakebite scam involves fake death claims for compensation The scam involved the use of the same names repeatedly in multiple claims for compensation. For example: Ramesh was recorded as having died 30 times. Dwarika Bai is said to have died 29 times. Ram Kumar was recorded as having died 28 times. Each of these spurious deaths was claimed up to Rs 4 lakh compensation, the maximum available by the Madhya Pradesh government in case of death due to a natural calamity. During the investigation, officials discovered that claims were sanctioned without necessary documents including: Death certificates Post-mortem reports Police verification These documents were never brought forth despite constant requests by the investigation team. Lack of these mandatory checks enabled the scam to remain undetected for years. How criminals used system gaps to forge fake sanctions The criminals took advantage of gaps in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to bulldoze spurious bills and sanctions. The investigation further revealed that officers, ranging from tehsildars to a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), had their official login details used to create spurious sanction orders. The primary accused, Sachin Dahayak, has been arrested and is in custody. Departmental action against six other government officials has been launched, including: One Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Four Tehsildars One other Assistant Grade III employee All were serving in Keolari tehsil during the period of investigation (2018–2022). CAG audit exposes Rs 23.81 crore fraud in Madhya Pradesh A different audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in late 2022 also pointed out the systemic nature of the fraud. The audit, which considered disbursements from four big state relief schemes, identified that Rs 23.81 crore was fraudulently disbursed in 13 districts of Madhya Pradesh. Breakdown of misappropriated amount: Seoni: Rs 11.79 crore Sheopur: Rs 3.36 crore Shivpuri: Rs 3 crore Dewas: Rs 1.26 crore Sehore: Rs 1.17 crore The audit report, which was laid before the Vidhan Sabha in March 2025, reported that Rs 21.14 crore had been transferred to ineligible or unauthorized persons and Rs 2.67 crore had gone to government servants and their family members. In Seoni district alone, scrutiny of 81 bills from the Keolari tehsil found that Rs 11.64 crore had been illegally transferred to 59 ineligible persons in the name of 291 fictitious sanction orders. Financial fraud exposes weaknesses in digital governance The revelation of this compensation fraud in Seoni and other areas highlights key weaknesses in financial management and digital governance frameworks. The capacity to keep making false death claims undetected for more than three years indicates key lacunas in monitoring, documentation, and accountability. While inquiry goes on and disciplinary steps against officials implicated unfold, the case pinpoints the imperative for enhanced verification processes, periodic audit checking, and safe access to financial management systems to avert repeats of such massive financial frauds. Also Read | China's 650-year-old Ming Dynasty tower roof collapses in seconds, tourists evacuate in panic | Watch
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Rs 11.26 crore snakebite death scam unearthed in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni, land of Jungle Book's Kaa
BHOPAL: In Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district -- famous as the land of The Jungle Book's serpent Kaa -- a man 'died' 30 times and a woman 29 times due to snake bites in a scam to siphon off public money running into crores. The alleged scam worth around Rs 11.26 crore was carried out by faking snakebite, drowning and lightning related deaths in official records to claim compensation from the state government. A detailed probe conducted by the finance department from Jabalpur, which began with the scrutiny of bills of Keolari tehsil of Seoni district, led to the unearthing of the scam. 'A scam worth Rs 11.26 crore has come to the fore, following the investigations. The embezzled Rs 11.26 crore was credited into the bank accounts of 47 people,' joint director (finance) Rohit Kaushal, who led the year-long probe, said on Wednesday. The man who is believed to have authored the entire scam, Assistant Grade III Sachin Dahayak, transferred the amount into the accounts of his family, friends and acquaintances. The public money was transferred to personal accounts instead of directly going to the beneficiary accounts, which establishes that the embezzlement was done in a planned and organized manner. The scam, which reportedly happened between 2018-19 to 2021-22, saw many of those shown in government records as deceased due to snakebites, drowning and lightning, 'die' multiple times particularly due to the venomous bites of serpents. A man named Ramesh was shown in the records of Keolari tehsil to have 'died' 30 times from snakebite, while Dwarika Bai 'died' 29 times and Ram Kumar 28 times. The maximum Rs 4 lakh compensation is paid to the families of those who lose their loved ones due to natural calamities like snakebite, drowning, lightning, etc. 'During the year-long probe conducted on the order of the finance department, we scrutinized all bills related to financial assistance released for natural calamities, like snakebites. The probe has revealed embezzlement of Rs 11.26 crore. Death certificates and autopsy reports of those shown dead in the records of the Keolari tehsil, weren't made available to our team, despite repeated requests,' the joint director (finance) Rohit Kaushal said. The probe has revealed that bills of those shown dead due to snakebites and drowning in the records were passed without death certificates, post-mortem reports and police verification. The Rs 11.26 crore embezzled through the scam was credited into the accounts of 47 people, including 46 private persons and one government employee. The probe also revealed that staff at the Keolari tehsil took advantage of shortcomings in the integrated financial management information system (IFMIS) to execute the scam.
The Print
28-04-2025
- Business
- The Print
K Ramakrishna Rao, the IAS officer behind every Telangana budget, is its new chief secretary
In fact, CM Revanth chose Rao as the next CS over 1990-batch IAS officer Dr Shashank Goel, who is a batch senior to Rao. Rao will be superannuating in August-end, but his colleagues say he might get an extension of up to 6 months. The officer shares a good rapport with senior figures in the state government including Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and his Deputy Bhatti Vikramarka. Hyderabad: K. Ramakrishna Rao, a 1991-batch IAS officer, has been named as the next chief secretary of Telangana, and will take over Wednesday from Santhi Kumari who is retiring from service. In a large-scale senior bureaucratic reshuffle, the state government Sunday transferred Goel, the Director General of the Marri Chenna Reddy Human Resource Development Institute of Telangana (MCR HRD), and posted him as the Vice-Chairman of the Centre for Good Governance. 'Though senior, Goel was never in the reckoning for the top post, given his low-profile,' a senior IAS officer told ThePrint. Rao has been heading the finance department since the state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. He was instrumental in drafting all the budgets, including the interim ones, in these years, presented by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the incumbent Congress governments. The officer is presently posted as the Special Chief Secretary in the Finance Department and is involved in the management of the state's finances, while mobilising resources for the Congress regime's flagship schemes. The order for his elevation was issued Sunday by the General Administration Department. Given his long stint and vast expertise in the finance department, a separate GAD order said, 'on assumption of charge as Chief Secretary, Rao is placed in full additional charge of the post of Special Chief Secretary, Finance Department, until further orders.' Speaking to ThePrint, Rao said, 'My priority, as has been the job the last one decade, will be keeping the finances right. However, as the CS, now my special focus will be on maximising the output from our vast human resources in the government sector. I want to create an efficient coordination, seamless network between the many departments, agencies.' Under his leadership, the Integrated Financial Management & Information System (IFMIS), was introduced and successfully implemented to enhance control and transparency in Telangana's fiscal administration. Rao has been in Full Additional Charge (FAC) of the planning department and looking after the State Reorganisation Department related to bifurcation issues. He had also handled employee distribution during the 2014 separation process. He has never been on central deputation. Also read: Weeks after resharing X post critical of govt, Telangana IAS officer Smita Sabharwal transferred Major reshuffles Fondly known as KRK in the IAS circles, Rao hails from present-day Nandyala district in Andhra Pradesh. In the IAS officers' cadre reallotment, he was given the Telangana state. Son of an Indian Railways employee, Rao's school education was completed in government residential institutions like the prestigious Andhra Pradesh Residential Junior College (APRJC), Nagarjuna Sagar. A meritorious student, Rao earned his Bachelors in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur and Masters from IIT, Delhi. He later completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Investments from the Duke University in the US. In his earlier postings, Rao has served as collector of Adilabad in Telangana and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. He also served as the Director of School Education and Director General of the Centre for Good Governance. Among other major reshuffles, 1992-batch officer Jayesh Ranjan has now been posted as the CEO of Industry and Investment Cell in the CMO and Smart Proactive Efficient and Effective Delivery (SPEED). He was working as the Special Chief Secretary, ITE&C and Sports Department. Ranjan is also placed in FAC of tourism and culture as Smita Sabharwal, IAS (2001), got transferred back to Telangana finance commission as its member secretary. Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA & UD) Department Principal Secretary Dana Kishore (1996 batch) has been posted with the Labour Employment Department in place of Sanjay Kumar (1995 batch) who has been transferred and posted as the Special Chief Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department, as well as ITE&C and Sports Department held by Jayesh Ranjan. Municipal Administration Commissioner & Director Dr. T.K. Sreedevi (2004) has been transferred and posted as the Secretary of the Municipal Administration Department (outside Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority). Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ilambarithi K. IAS (2005) has been transferred and posted as the Secretary of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Area & Urban Development Department (HMDA limits). Health & Family Welfare Director R.V. Karnan (2012-batch) has been transferred and posted as the GHMC Commissioner in place of Ilambarithi K. (IAS 2005 batch). State Flagship projects Commissioner K. Shashanka of the 2013 batch of IAS officers has been transferred and posted as the Commissioner of the Future City Development Authority (FCDA). I&PR Department Special Commissioner and 2015 batch officer S. Harish has been transferred and posted as the CMD, Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TG GENCO), relieving Sandeep Kumar Sultania, IAS (1998) from the FAC of the said post. Another 10 officers were also transferred and given new postings. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also read:Weeks after resharing X post critical of govt, Telangana IAS officer Smita Sabharwal transferred
