Declared dead on paper, alive in reality:Bhaskar exposes alleged Sambal Scheme fraud; no action despite investigation

I stopped receiving ration and my old-age pension stopped. I made rounds of offices. I found out that in the eyes of the government, I am dead. On paper, my last rites have been performed. My name was removed from the Samagra ID, and now, despite being alive, I am unable to get a ration card. This is what Ganpat Kushwaha of Satna says. This story is not just his. This is the reality of the corrupt system in Madhya Pradesh’s ‘Mukhyamantri Jan Kalyan (Sambal) Yojana’, which, by declaring living people dead on paper, even embezzled the money meant for their shrouds. Dainik Bhaskar’s investigation revealed that the people who were declared ‘dead’ in government records and millions of rupees were withdrawn, are alive. The families of those who actually died did not know when the money came in their name and who took it. In Satna and Mauganj districts alone, a case of embezzling 45 lakh rupees through collusion has been exposed.
Three ways of embezzlement: ‘Creativity’ of corruption Bhaskar’s investigation revealed that corrupt officials adopted three methods for embezzlement- 1. Ordinary death was made ‘accidental’ Ramesh Vishwakarma’s wife, from Deora village in Mauganj, died of illness in 2022. The secretary took a check and Aadhaar from Ramesh, claiming he would receive 2 lakh. Three years later, when money was needed, it was discovered that 4 lakh rupees had been withdrawn by showing the death as an ‘accident’, out of which 2 lakh 10 thousand were fraudulently embezzled by the secretary. He has been suspended about a month and a half later. 2. Rights of loved ones, accounts of strangers In the cases of Kamta Prasad of Deora Panchayat and Ramcharan Chaudhary of Nagaud, the assistance amount was deposited into other bank accounts without informing the family members. Secretaries embezzled millions of rupees using these accounts, and the real heirs are still wandering for help. 3. Declaring the Living as Dead In Rahikwara Panchayat of Satna, 5 people including Ganpat Kushwaha, Sajjan Chaudhary and Gorelal Kushwaha are alive, but they were declared dead on paper and an ex-gratia amount of 4 lakh rupees each and 5 thousand rupees for funeral expenses were withdrawn. System Breach and Who is Responsible? The masterminds of this entire scheme are the Panchayat Secretary and the Sarpanch. According to the process, the secretary manipulates documents to change the nominee’s name and account number. Subsequently, Janpad Panchayat officials verify it without physical verification. This was made possible due to the collusion between the Sarpanch and Secretary in Nagaud and Mauganj. Investigation conducted, guilt proven, but action slow Mauganj: An embezzlement of 20 lakhs was found in the investigation by Janpad CEO Surbhi Srivastava. The Sarpanch, Secretary, Rozgar Sahayak (Employment Assistant), and operator were found guilty. Collector Sanjay Jain gave strict instructions, but even after a month, action has only been taken against the secretary.
Satna: Embezzlement of more than 25 lakh rupees occurred here. District Panchayat CEO Sanjay Singh said that a notice has been sent to the secretary. The accused secretary is already suspended for embezzlement in the PM Awas Yojana, yet the administration is only issuing notices in the name of ‘punitive action’. Today, the situation is that the real beneficiaries are struggling for every grain, and those looting the government treasury are roaming freely. The benefit of the government’s ‘single click’ scheme is disappearing due to the ‘double click’ of corruption even before it reaches the poor.