BMC urges Govt to suspend engineer

THE BHOPAL Municipal Corporation (BMC) administration recently wrote a letter to the Urban Administration Department urging it to suspend an assistant engineer, who was on deputation to the BMC, for his involvement in funds embezzlement. Two BMC employees were suspended earlier in the case.

The embezzlement of funds amounting to over Rs 38 lakh were realised from the residents of illegal colonies as development fees.

The funds embezzlement was detected about three years ago. In August 2006, the BMC had filed an FIR in this case at Piplani Police Station as the development fee was realised from the colonies that come under this police station. The Piplani Police Station filed a case against the officials under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 409 in this regard. Despite filing the FIR, the BMC administration did not take any action against the officials involved in this case.

At the time of embezzlement — from 2001 to March 2004 —  Assistant Engineer Sharad Chandra Solanki was zonal officer of Zone 11. Solanki was on deputation in the BMC and relieved recently following the High Court directives about the employees on deputation. Since Solanki was on deputation, the BMC administration wrote a letter to the State Government in this regard so that the parent department could take action against the employees. 

The BMC administration also suspended two other employees —  departmental accountant Sandhya Kulkarni and LDC Mohammed Nisar. During the initial inquiry, these officials were found guilty of embezzlement of funds, which were realised from the residents of illegal colonies as the development fee. The money was not deposited with the BMC. The BMC is learnt to have found the receipt books through which about Rs 38 lakh were realised.

However, seven receipt books and one challan book are still missing. After the recovery of these documents, the embezzled funds could go over Rs one crore. The BMC administration is learnt to have also pointed out in the letter that that this could be biggest embezzlement of funds in all the municipal corporations of the State.