The Chief Executive Officer of Raichur Xilla Panchayat, Rahul Tukaram Pandve, on Friday placed 27 Panchayat Development Officers under suspension. All 27 PDO’s are working in Deodurga taluk of Raichur district. Mr. Pandve further recommended to the government to suspend five PDO’s who were working in Raichur district then but were now working at different places after being transferred.
All 32 PDO’s were facing charges of dereliction of duty following the allegation of their involvement in misappropriation of funds meant to implement the programmes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for the period of 2020–21, 2021–22, and 2022–23 in Deodurga taluk.
The action came after an internal report by the team social audit on the charges raised following the complaint by the public to the State government about the misappropriation of crores over funds.
The CEO also directed the Executive Officer of Deodurga Taluk Panchayat to register a criminal case against those involved in the irregularities and misappropriation of funds in all 33 gram panchayats in the taluk.