MP government to probe Sambal scheme

BHOPAL: The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday said the state police’s special task force (STF) would probe into alleged irregularities in the Sambal scheme for unorganised workers.

The previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which lost power to the Congress in December, had launched the scheme in June 2018. The scheme sought to provide over 80 lakh families of unorganised workers benefits like electricity at a flat ₹200 per month and concrete houses.

Madhya Pradesh minister Mahendra Sisodia said a former minister, two Indian Adminis- trative Service officers and as many labour department employees were allegedly involved in the irregularities found to be worth ₹20 crore so far. He refused to name the minister and officials involved saying their exact role was being investigated and their names would be disclosed once a First Information Report (FIR) is registered.

Sisodia said the alleged irregularities came to light during a labour department’s internal inquiry. “The report of the internal committee has been submitted to chief minister Kamal Nath,” he said.

Sisodia said ₹27 crore was sanctioned to Jan Abhiyan Parishad (JAP), a government body formed in 1997 for better coordi- nation with NGOS, under the Sambal Scheme.

“₹20 crore was released to the Parishad within a week. The Parishad spent the money but did not present any bills and completion certificate of whatever work it had done,” he said.

Sisodia said Nath has instructed him to lodge an FIR in the matter.

BJP leader Gopal Bhargava called Sambal a popular scheme, which addressed the needs of the weaker sections. “The incumbent Congress government is trying to give a bad name to the scheme so that they do away with it.”

According to a government official aware of the scheme, JAP was roped in as a coordinat- ing agency to popularise the scheme and to help people register for it.

The JAP also assisted a monitoring committee the previous government had constituted for better implementation of the scheme, the official added.

In the run-up to the state assembly elections, the Congress had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the then Bjp-led state government for using JAP for bettering its poll prospects.

Then principal secretary of Labour Sanjay Dubey could not be reached for his comments.

His successor Pramod Agrawal said he has just joined the department and was not in a position to comment.