MP News: Shadol Gram Panchayat Buys 2,500 Bricks Worth Rs 12,500 For Rs 1.25 Lakh; Collector Orders Probe After Bill Goes Viral

MP News: Gram Panchayats in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol district have been caught red-handed with fictitious bills. This is not the first time that such cases have been reported at the panchayat levels in Madhya Pradesh. 

In the past, photocopying scams, bribery for work, and dry fruit scams at the panchayat levels have made national headlines. This time, the Panchayats have come under the cross-fire for providing fictitious bills of bricks used for building houses. 

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What Is The Case?

In a viral photo, a bill of Rs 1.25 lakh for 2,500 bricks has been accepted by the Bhatia Gram Panchayat in Budhar block. To break it down, every brick has cost the panchayat Rs 50, which is ten times the usual price. 

The purchase bill is addressed to Chetan Prasad Kushwaha of Peribahara village, while the supply bill has been issued for the construction of the boundary wall of an anganwadi building in Patera Tola. The bill also carries the signatures of the sarpanch and secretary of Bhatia village. 

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But this is not a stray incident. A few weeks ago, the Kudri Gram Panchayat was in the spotlight after Rs 4,000 was sanctioned for photocopying two pages. A similar incident took place in July in the Bhadhwahi village, where 14 kg of dry fruits, 30 kg of namkeen, and 9 kg of fruits were consumed during a one-hour Jal Ganga Samvardhan Abhiyan, which was a campaign promotion. 

Shahdol has been plagued by such incidents for the past few months, and Collector Dr Kedar Singh admits something seems amiss. Subsequently, cluster-level officers have been directed to inspect 10-12 panchayats daily to check whether such bills are due to human negligence or are methods of deliberate fraud.