A former gram pradhan and the wife of a Samajwadi Party (SP) leader was booked along with one other for allegedly embezzling funds meant for the construction of toilets in a village, an official said today.
Recommendations have also been made for departmental action against two government employees, District Magistrate Sujit Kumar said.
An FIR has been lodged against Shiv Kumari Devi-- wife of SP district unit head Ram Iqbal Yadav-- along with secretary gram panchayat Ram Pratap Singh, Kumar said.
In 2013-2014, Pakaha village under Patherdeva block was declared a Lohia village under which over Rs 49 lakh were sanctioned to build 1082 toilets at the rate of Rs. 4600 per toilet, he said.
However, complaints were received that the toilets were not constructed as per the norms and many of them were left half-finished, Kumar added.
A probe was initiated by the state government on May 13, 2018. Additional director panchayti raj Rajendra Singh investigated the matter and found serious irregularities, he said.
More From This Section
On the basis of the recommendations made by the official, an FIR was lodged against Kumari and Ram Pratap Singh, he added.
Departmental action against the assistant development officer (panchayat) Dashrath Singh and district project coordinator Brijesh Pandey has also been initiated on the recommendations made by Rajendra Singh, the DM said.