IMPHAL, July 2: Director of Minorities and Other Backward Classes (MOBC) Department has registered a case against an employee of the department identified as Shaikh Mujibur Rehman for siphoning off a scholarship amount of Rs 1, 67, 000 to be given away to a student, revealed Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh.
He was responding to a motion for disapproval of policy cut raised by MLA Dr I Ibohalbi Singh while putting up Demand No 47 `“ discussion on grant of Rs 34, 87, 58, 000 for Minorities and Other Backward Classes (MOBC) for 2015-16 in the ongoing 11th Session of the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly today.
The CM said that the incident of fund misappropriation that cropped up in the MOBC Department has tarnished the image of the government.
The employee of the department involved in the fund embezzlement will not be spared, he vowed.
Maintaining that a clear communication has been established between educational institutes and the concerned Ministry through direct online for awarding scholarship amount to students, Ibobi admitted that the government had not been able to verify the scholarship process through scholarship amount had been given away to deserving students.
Therefore, the state government has urged the concerned Ministry to allow an officer not less than the rank of Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) to verify the scholarship process, he said.
Ibobi then briefed the House about various measures taken up by Youth Affairs and Sports Department for welfare of youths and sportspersons of the state.
MLA Dr I ibohalbi while raising the motion for disapproval of policy cut claimed that the scholarship amount swindled by the employee of the MOBC Department was for a poor student namely Nongyaimayum Afzal Ali pursuing B Tech in Food Technology in an institute in Gangtok, Sikkim.
Surprisingly, the student was quoted as studying B Tech in Civil Engineering in NERIST in the list notified for awarding scholarship amount making him to miss out his scholarship, he said.
He also said that the MOBC Department has been plagued with scandals, which needs prompt intervention by the government to ensure transparency in the department.