Silchar civic body suspends accounts chief over alleged irregularities

The Silchar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has suspended its Superintendent of Accounts, Raju Dey, over alleged financial irregularities in the civic body's salary and development spending, India Today NE and The Times of India reported.

Municipal Commissioner Ankur Das issued the suspension order on November 7, barely a week after Silchar's newly elected councillors took oath.

What is alleged

According to sources quoted in the reports, Dey is accused of failing to give a proper account of funds set aside for employees' salaries and of money spent on development schemes over the past few years.

A key allegation is that the amount shown as salary expenditure was much higher than what was actually needed. A preliminary scrutiny of the corporation's records is said to have thrown up several such discrepancies.

The allegations have not been proved, and Dey's response was not available. The outcome of an inquiry is awaited.

Inquiry ordered

The corporation has asked Executive Officer Abhijit Bey and Financial Management Officer Debashis Saikia to look into the alleged discrepancies and submit a report to the state government in Dispur. Copies of the suspension order have been sent to Mayor Amarendra Paul and Deputy Mayor Bijendra Prasad Singh.

Minister's review

The action came days after Assam's Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Kaushik Rai chaired a review meeting at the Cachar Deputy Commissioner's office with the mayor and deputy mayor. The Times of India and Barak Taranga reported that the minister was unhappy with the corporation's financial management and questioned the financial management officer, and that disciplinary action had been indicated at that meeting.

Questions over the appointment

The reports also say questions have been raised about how Dey came to hold the post. He was originally an employee of the Goldighi Management Committee, which works under the corporation, and was brought in to help with accounts work during the tenure of a former executive officer, before becoming a regular employee and later superintendent of accounts.

Sources cited by The Times of India said at least five other employees, including an engineer and a staff member of the vehicle section, are also under scrutiny over alleged links to a suspected syndicate inside the corporation. They said the inquiry could be widened to look at past appointments. None of these claims has been officially confirmed.

Why it matters

The SMC has just begun a new term after the civic polls, and the case is an early test of how the new council and the state government deal with long-standing complaints about the civic body's finances.