Saradha scam: Has compensatory money also been mismanaged?

Kolkata, Nov 26: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a hurried announcement to compensate those who have lost their life-long savings in the Saradha chit fund scam last year. She announced that the compensation of Rs 500 crore would be paid from the state exchequer. Has it led to another financial irregularity in the state?

A committee was formed under former judge Shyamal Sen to hand over the compensation. The panel's tenure ended on October 22 and now the Principal Accountant General has sought detailed reports from the state government about the beneficiaries, a report published in Anandabazaar Patrika said.

According to the Shyamal Sen Commission, 12 lakh people had applied for compensation and around 5 lakh people were identified and the state government approved Rs 286 crore and cheques worth Rs 251 crore were distributed, the report said.

According to the ABP report, a number of cheques did not reach their destination and returned. Have they reached wrong hands?

The PAG has asked the state government whether the recipients were confirmed to be genuine before disbursing the cheques. The home department, however, has passed the buck to the finance department.

The Opposition had criticised the move to compensate but the CM ignored

The finance department claimed that procedures were not followed properly before disbursing the cheques and nobody cared to crosscheck the names of the recipients fearing action from the top authorities, the report said.

Oneindia News