8 panchayat members, including sarpanch, suspended for misappropriating panchayat funds

Patiala News: The entire panchayat of Nalas Khurd village under Rajpura block of Patiala district has been suspended by the government for misappropriating panchayat funds.

Assistant Director Panchayat Sakha has also been directed to take action and BDPO Rajpura to immediately seal the accounts of the panchayat for not submitting records against two panchayat secretaries in this regard.
In an order issued by Rural Development and Panchayats Department Director Gurpreet Singh Khaira, the matter was being investigated in September last year on the complaint of the complainant Swaran Singh of the village.
After which five members, including the sarpanch, spent the grant money despite the ban of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The allegations were proved true in an inquiry conducted by the district development and panchayat officer following this complaint.
He further said that on the basis of this report, Sarpanch Munshi Ram, Panch Surinder Singh, Som Chand, Jagbir Singh, Ved Prakash, Sunita, Manpreet Kaur, Gurjit Kaur have been suspended from the posts under Section 20 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.
According to Director Gurpreet Singh Khaira, before the suspension, notices were issued to all the accused asking them to give their explanation within 15 days.
He then submitted his reply to the sarpanch and the panchayats. After reading the reply, he was summoned for a personal hearing on March 6, 2023, but his answers were not satisfactory.
Apart from suspension of sarpanches and panches, the department has also written to assistant director panchayat sakha to take action against panchayat secretary Jasvir Chand and other panchayat secretary Rajinder Kumar of Block Sambhu Kalan for not submitting records. At the same time, block development and panchayat officer Rajpura should immediately seal the accounts of gram panchayat Nalas Khurd and submit a report to the panchayat department.