Sheekha Bureau
Port Blair, Nov 12: Do Pradhans have power to hire a private vehicle to travel from one Island to another? Most importantly how someone in the rank of Pradhan can claim bills against vehicle, which is under repair from several years?
Mr. Biju Gurudasan, Pradhan of Sundergarh Panchayat has perhaps mastered the trick of claiming fake TA bills against ghost vehicles.
According to Jadwet Trading Company, which is the dealer of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.in Andamans, a Mahindra Savari Jeep Bearing Reg. No. AN -01, D 4772 was lying in Mahindra Service Centre, Garacharma from 20.12.2012 to 13.05.2013 for major repair work. According to yet another certificate issued by VRK Motors, Port Blair, the same vehicle was lying in its Garage from 20.12.2013 to 19.09.2013 for minor repair works.
Surprisingly during this period when this vehicle was in garages for major and minor repairs the Pradhan was using the same vehicles, only in papers, and claiming Transport Allowance.
According to documents available with Andaman Sheekha the Pradhan of Sundergarh claimed an amount of Rs. 1100 on 04.11.2013, Rs. 4000 on 13.06.2013, Rs. 4,000 on 10.05.2013, Rs. 2,500 on 27.03.2012, Rs. 2,500 on 11.08.2012, Rs.4,000 on 03.06.2011. There several other similar bills issued by the Saraswati Travels, which have the number of the vehicle printed on the bill as AN01, D-4772.
Most importantly RTI documents show that during these dates this vehicle did not cross the Middle Strait or Jirkatang Check Post, of course, because the vehicle was in garage.
When Andaman Sheekha Contacted the Pradhan for his opinion he refuted all allegations of corruption and submission fake bills.
“When we submitted these bills, there were hardly any commercial vehicle available in Baratang. Therefore for official formality we submitted some bill. Infact the son of the Vehicle owner gave us the blank bills for submission. All the visits are for official purposes and not for my private work. This is an effort to target me and damage my reputation just before coming Panchayat Election. This is a political conspiracy,” he explained.
