The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has ordered four self-help groups (SHGs), Swadhar, Chinar, Swamini and Rajmata, to submit all their reports for audit.
Mayor Yogesh Behl on Wednesday claimed he has been unnecessarily implicated in the scam by the Shiv Sena and was ready to face any inquiry regarding the SHG scam. He told media persons, “I am ready to face any inquiry regarding the scam. The Sena leaders have deliberately dragged me into this.’’
Shiv Sena corporator Seema Savale has alleged that Behl was involved in the scam on Tuesday. The four SHGs have allegedly duped the civic body of Rs1.2 crore in 2007-08, from funds sanctioned to support women empowerment programmes.
Municipal commissioner Ashish Sharma had issued an order to submit the audit report to civic officials a year ago, but SHG officials did not do so. The civic body has asked the four SHGs to submit the reports soon and threatened that the civic body file would cases against them if they failed to do so.
Last week, Savale held a press conference and revealed that during the tenure of former PCMC commissioner Dilip Band, the civic body sanctioned Rs30 lakh in donations to 20 SHGs, but only eight got them. The Bank of Baroda had also provided Rs50-lakh loan to the eight SHGs.
