The Othakalmandapam the town panchayat comprises simply five% of the scale of Coimbatore Corporation. But it spends greater than five occasions on its water pipeline leakages than the corporation, finds the CAG audit record.
The panchayat, positioned 18km from town, has spent `38 lakh for purchasing spares to mend leakages and some other `45 lakh to deal with the pipelines in just one 12 months - 2014-2015. As in keeping with the documents which can be available for 5 years from 2011 to 2016, the panchayat with an area of 13.60sqkm spent greater than 50% of its total earnings on keeping up its water supply device.
The panchayat will get about `20 lakh from water tax and it spent greater than `25 lakh once a year on keeping up the water supply. While the panchayat did not expose its information on the period of the pipeline, officials at the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board stated the numbers were appalling. "The Othakalmandapam town panchayat does not have an exclusive water supply scheme, so the maintenance is very less. We spend only around `50,000 for big pipeline leakages and less than `500 for small maintenance work. This amount for such a small area is shocking," stated a senior TWAD board legitimate.
The panchayat will get 12 lakh litres of water every day from the Pillur-Athikadavu project. When requested, residents within the panchayat stated they reported a leakage simplest once each three months. "I have been living here for the past 60 years and in the past 10 years all the mud roads have been converted to tar roads. We make just five or six leakage complaints a year," stated Okay Nataraj, a resident.
A former councillor within the panchayat alleged that senior politicians were given a lion’s percentage of the cash. "We agree this is a small panchayat, and so much expenditure points to corruption. But it is not the officers alone who are responsible for this," he stated. A former officer within the panchayat stated they were compelled to pay for bills of party purposes. "How can we make these payments from our pocket. We have no other choice but to use panchayat funds and claim them as bills," stated an legitimate.
Activist Daniel Jesudas, who were given these stories in the course of the RTI Act, stated corruption in panchayats used to be rampant. "We were shocked when we went through the audit reports, as each year the same items were mentioned. It is surprising that senior officials, especially the town panchayat assistant director, did not take any step to stop this or order an enquiry. This proves that he is also equally involved in this," alleged Daniel.
Despite a number of attempts by way of TOI, assistant director of the town panchayats P Ganeshram may now not be reached for comment. Executive officer S Indhumathi, who used to be the EO in 2014-2015, stated she had no idea about the audit. "Such expenditure take place in every town panchayat and I have been responsible for various good projects being implemented in the panchayat," she stated.
The collector isn't marked as a respondent within the CAG audit record. But when his administrative center used to be contacted, he used to be now not available for comment.
The panchayat, positioned 18km from town, has spent `38 lakh for purchasing spares to mend leakages and some other `45 lakh to deal with the pipelines in just one 12 months - 2014-2015. As in keeping with the documents which can be available for 5 years from 2011 to 2016, the panchayat with an area of 13.60sqkm spent greater than 50% of its total earnings on keeping up its water supply device.
The panchayat will get about `20 lakh from water tax and it spent greater than `25 lakh once a year on keeping up the water supply. While the panchayat did not expose its information on the period of the pipeline, officials at the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board stated the numbers were appalling. "The Othakalmandapam town panchayat does not have an exclusive water supply scheme, so the maintenance is very less. We spend only around `50,000 for big pipeline leakages and less than `500 for small maintenance work. This amount for such a small area is shocking," stated a senior TWAD board legitimate.
The panchayat will get 12 lakh litres of water every day from the Pillur-Athikadavu project. When requested, residents within the panchayat stated they reported a leakage simplest once each three months. "I have been living here for the past 60 years and in the past 10 years all the mud roads have been converted to tar roads. We make just five or six leakage complaints a year," stated Okay Nataraj, a resident.
A former councillor within the panchayat alleged that senior politicians were given a lion’s percentage of the cash. "We agree this is a small panchayat, and so much expenditure points to corruption. But it is not the officers alone who are responsible for this," he stated. A former officer within the panchayat stated they were compelled to pay for bills of party purposes. "How can we make these payments from our pocket. We have no other choice but to use panchayat funds and claim them as bills," stated an legitimate.
Activist Daniel Jesudas, who were given these stories in the course of the RTI Act, stated corruption in panchayats used to be rampant. "We were shocked when we went through the audit reports, as each year the same items were mentioned. It is surprising that senior officials, especially the town panchayat assistant director, did not take any step to stop this or order an enquiry. This proves that he is also equally involved in this," alleged Daniel.
Despite a number of attempts by way of TOI, assistant director of the town panchayats P Ganeshram may now not be reached for comment. Executive officer S Indhumathi, who used to be the EO in 2014-2015, stated she had no idea about the audit. "Such expenditure take place in every town panchayat and I have been responsible for various good projects being implemented in the panchayat," she stated.
The collector isn't marked as a respondent within the CAG audit record. But when his administrative center used to be contacted, he used to be now not available for comment.
Half of Othakalmandapam revenue goes down the pipeline
![Half of Othakalmandapam revenue goes down the pipeline]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
February 19, 2018
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