An inquiry committee last week confirmed irregularities in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's (PCMC) accounts department regarding the clearance of bills worth Rs60 crore on March 30 this year. Now, the civic body's chief accounts officer and director of finance, Pravin Jain, has sought to shift responsibility onto officials from the respective departments whose works led to the bills being cleared.
Jain's Defense
Jain, who was sent on compulsory leave after the probe was initiated, has written to the civic body's vigilance department chief, also a member of the inquiry committee. He stated that junior engineers, deputy engineers, assistant accountants, accountants, accounts officers, executive engineers, assistant city engineers, city engineers, and heads of departments (HoDs) should all be held accountable. According to Jain, these officials should not have allowed bills to be prepared without approval of supplementary proposals by the standing committee or general body.
Jain emphasized that the accounts department's role is limited to that of a drawing and disbursing authority, and its officers were being unfairly blamed. In his letter to the vigilance department on Friday, he wrote: "It is mandatory for the HoD concerned to verify that all approvals and procedures have been completed before signing bills for payment. Department heads cannot evade this responsibility. If the sub proposals were not valid, the HoDs should not have allowed the bills to be prepared. Had the bills not been prepared, they would never have reached the accounts department for payment."
Inquiry Committee Findings
The inquiry committee, in its preliminary report submitted to the municipal commissioner on April 21, confirmed that rules were violated while clearing contractor bills worth Rs60 crore in a single day on March 30. While civic officials have not revealed whether Jain will face action, standing committee chairman Abhishek Barne, who raised the issue, said recommendations for appropriate action would be sent to the state government after the final probe report is received, likely within 10 days. Barne noted that the civic body cannot directly act against Jain as he is a state government officer; any proposal for disciplinary action must be forwarded to the state government.
Mayor Demands FIR
Last Friday, Pimpri Chinchwad mayor Ravi Landge told reporters that an FIR should be registered against Jain, warning that elected representatives would approach the police if PCMC failed to initiate legal action. "The preliminary report has confirmed that Jain is guilty; hence, legal action must be initiated against him. If he acted on someone's instructions, he must reveal those names," Landge said. PCMC commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi did not respond to requests for comment.
