Nagpur: In a development that left NMC shocked, four cheques, for Rs 52 lakh in all, submitted by the arrested contractor Padmakar ‘Kolba’ Sakode to the civic body, have reportedly bounced. Also, another 15 bogus contracts worth Rs 68 lakh have come to fore, this time in the Solid Waste Management Department. The bounced cheques are a shocker for Nagpur Municipal Corporation, which was hoping to recover the amount embezzled from it in the Bogus Contracts Scam.
According to NMC sources, Sakode had submitted a cheque of Rs 67 lakh when a similar amount of bogus contracts were unearthed from the Health Department. NMC recovered the amount as the cheque was encashed. Later, bogus contracts of Rs 74 lakh and Rs 60 lakh came to light in the Library, and Birth and Death Registration Department respectively.
Sources further said that Sakode had prepared bogus contracts in the name of Shree Ganesh Sai Services, which was owned by another person. Following the expose, the person recovered Rs50 lakh from Sakode and submitted a cheque which was encashed a day ago. At the same time, on December 16, Sakode had submitted four cheques of Rs 13 lakh each in the name of his four agencies. These four cheques bounced. Sakode stopped payment from two accounts and there was insufficient money in the other two accounts. Appropriate action will also be taken for bounce of cheques, sources added.
According to NMC, the difference between provision given by Solid Waste Management Department in its heads, and payment disbursed by Accounts and Finance Department came to fore along the lines of fraud in Health, Library, and Birth and Death Registration Departments. Detailed inquiry revealed solid waste management did not approve 15 contracts of Rs 68 lakh to Sakode’s firms.
Sakode had prepared 15 bogus contracts by forging signatures of Health Department officials and submitted them for release of payment with Accounts and Finance Department. Clerks, Mohan Padwanshi from the General Administration Department, and Sanis Gokhe from the Projects Department, generated bills and approved an online payment module.
This is the first case in the scam where Sakode allegedly prepared bogus contracts under heads of one department but forged signatures of officials of another department. Now, the scam has swelled to Rs 4.09 crore. Earlier, bogus contracts of Rs 2.07 crore were confirmed from the health department, Rs7 4 lakh from library, and Rs 60 lakh from birth and death registration department. Till now, NMC has recovered Rs 1.17 crore from the contractor.
