The Union ministry for rural development and panchayati raj has recommended a CBI investigation and CAG audit into all central schemes being implemented in Ludhiana parliamentary constituency.
The ministry's communication was in response to a complaint by Manish Tewari, Congress MP from Ludhiana, on large-scale irregularities in centrally-sponsored schemes implemented through the Punjab government and its agencies in Ludhiana district, Mr Tiwari's spokesman said on Sunday.
According to him, the ministry said the complaint, along with the report of a preliminary enquiry conducted by its officers, has been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "The ministry has requested the CBI that an early investigation be conducted in this regard," the spokesman added. The communication added that the CAG had also been requested to conduct a special audit of the implementation of the rural development schemes in Ludhiana district.
"Following a massive scam reported in centrally sponsored Indira Aawas Yojana in Ludhiana and complaints about irregularities in several other central projects, the local MP Manish Tewari had written to the minister seeking special audit and CBI investigation," the spokesman said. "The case assumes importance as the state government failed to act and take any action.
Instead of investigating the case impartially, the government not only shielded the guilty but also tried to hush up the matter," Mr Tewari pointed out in his complaint. "This necessitated a probe by an independent and neutral agency independent of the state government," Mr Tewari's letter said.