Kendrapara: Eleven alive people have been “wrongfully declared dead” and government aid for their funeral has been allegedly embezzled in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, officials said Friday.
The incident came to light recently when one of the “deceased” persons, identified as Sanyasi Khuntia, saw his name on a list of 11 people from Kurunti Gram Panchayat, declared having died in May this year, on state social security department website with their relatives mentioned as receivers of Rs 2,000 each under the Harishchandra Sahayata Yojana for their funeral.
However, the relatives of the “deceased” people claimed they haven’t received any money under the scheme as all the 11 of them are alive.
Khuntia, along with other “deceased” Pravat Kumar Swain and Ananta Jena, accused panchayat officials looking after disbursement of government funds of its embezzlement and registered complaints with the Rajnagar Block Development Officer on Wednesday.
Swain continues riding his auto-rickshaw and another “deceased” Gopinath Khatua working as a plumber in Kerala.
Sukanti Pradhan, the relative of one of the “deceased”, claimed she has never received any money under the scheme launched by the state government in 2018 to help poor families complete the last rites of the dead.
“We have received complaints about the matter and an inquiry has been initiated. If the veracity of the allegations is established, those responsible for misappropriating the funds will be taken to task,” BDO Rabindra Pradhan said.
PTI