Uttar Pradesh: Unnao DM suspended for misusing school funds

LUCKNOW: The district magistrate of Unnao, Devendra Kumar Pandey, was suspended on Saturday after he was found guilty of having misused composite grant funds meant for schools. He will also face action under the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules 1969.

Meanwhile, Ravindra Kumar-I, who was DM Kannauj, will take over as the new Unnao DM.
The matter had been raised by Samajwadi Party in Vidhan Parishad in the ongoing budget session when MLC Sunil Kumar had accused the government of shielding the guilty in this incident.However, an inquiry by the Lucknow commissioner found Pandey prima facie guilty of the charges.
District-level committees comprising the DM and the basic shiksha adhikari have to ensure usage of the grant for work as specified by the state project office.
Sources in the government said that complaints against Pandey included charges that not only had the district-level committee of Unnao made modifications to the list but also reduced the number of approved works.
“The list of compulsory works to be undertaken at the district level was changed and other works and items were included in it. Some of the compulsory works as specified by the state project office were removed entirely by the district-level committee,” said an official.
The inquiry also found that most items for schools were procured from a single firm in Jaunpur. The report said that the firm charged more for the goods than their market rate, the quality of the goods was substandard and the firm was not registered for GST.
Funds transferred to schools on Oct 15
On September 20, 2018, funds were allocated under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan for Unnao district project office that were transferred to accounts of various schools via RTGS on October 15. District-level purchase list of 2019 shows that despite funds being allocated, purchases were not made on time and decentralised process was centralised,” said an official.