The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has unearthed widespread corruption in the disbursal of the Chief Ministers’ Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to ineligible claimants.
The government maintained the account to dispense emergency funds to seriously ill persons hard-pressed to afford medical care, survivors of natural disasters, next of kin of those killed in accidents, and needy persons facing similar exigencies in life.
Local bodies are primarily tasked to make ex gratia payments based on the merit of the applicants. Prospective beneficiaries of the CMDRF have to justify their application by furnishing the required documents in an attested format in the section dealing with CMDRF disbursal in grama panchayats or municipalities.
Section officer’s level
The VACB said the corruption often started at the level of the section officer. Corrupt officials employed agents to accept and vet applications. The agents furnished fake medical and income certificates to facilitate the fraudulent release of the CMDRF funds to disentitled applicants. The agents also entered their mobile phone number in the application so they would know when the government deposited the fund in the claimant’s bank account. The agents claim a portion of the generosity as commission, a part of which they transferred to the account of the “enabling” section officer.
In a telling case, the VACB found that officials at the Anchuthengu grama panchayat had transferred CMDRF money to 16 accounts. They noticed an anomaly in the cash transfers. The mobile number of the applicants were the same. Further investigation revealed that the number was that of an agent who facilitated the CMDRF payment to disentitled persons for a hefty commission.
In several cases, local bodies had allocated CMDRF funds on false premises justified by fake documents.
Doctor’s role
In Kollam district, the VACB zeroed in on a doctor who issued fraudulent medical certificates, an estimated 1,500, to those seeking to avail themselves of CMDRF benefits illegally. In some cases, the doctor, who allegedly worked with agents, issued such certificates to entire members of several ineligible families. Moreover, some local self-government institution (LSGI) officials issued the CMDRF funds without the requisite documents, including Aadhaar and ration cards.
In another illustrative case, the LSGIs in different districts released the CMDRF funds to the same person based on fake documents.
In Ernakulam, for instance, the VACB found that the officials had granted ₹30,000 and ₹45,000 to two well-heeled Gulf returnees from the CMDRF. The VACB said the detections so far were merely the tip of the iceberg.
Additional Director General of Police, Manoj Abraham, supervised the inspections.
