Following the PM KISAN scam in Tamil Nadu in which about 5 lakh ineligible people were enrolled under the scheme leading to the siphoning off of around ₹110 crore from the exchequer, reports of local officials indulging in corruption in other Central government schemes have emerged.
In July 2020, residents of Thalayamangalam village near Mannargudi in Thiruvarur district lodged police complaints about misappropriation of funds in which around 140 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PM Housing Scheme) were shown on paper as built by forging documents of beneficiaries, without actually having been built. 4 officers were dismissed from service in this regard.
Now, reports of another scam has emerged where documents of 60 beneficiaries belonging to Devendrapuram village under Karnavur panchayat near Mannargudi have been forged showing that houses and toilets have been built without actually building them.
The District Collector of Thiruvarur has ordered for a probe in the matter. A special investigating team under Ponniyil Selvan, Rural Development Agency Assistant Project Officer has been formed who are now going door-to-door in all the villages of Karnavur panchayat to check if the toilets and houses have been built for the eligible beneficiaries.