Assam PHE department faces corruption allegations over misuse of Swachh Bharat Mission funds

Widespread allegations of corruption have emerged from the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department in Dhubri, Assam, where crores of rupees under the NLOB (Non-Low Order Beneficiary) and LOB (Low Order Beneficiary) schemes are reportedly misappropriated. The funds, originally intended for the construction of sanitary latrines as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) for the years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, are allegedly misused by officials within the PHE Dhubri division.

The alleged misuse of funds has sparked public outrage with many accusing the Executive Engineer, SDOs, JEs, SOs, and NGO officials of fabricating documents and submitting false reports to siphon off government money. Despite the approval of 28,141 sanitary latrines under the Swachh Bharat Mission for Dhubri district, only a fraction of the work appears to have been carried out on the ground. The work that has been reported as completed is described as substandard.

Residents of Dhubri are particularly alarmed by reports that names of beneficiaries have been duplicated, with some areas showing work done only on paper. For example, in one case, work was reported as complete for 2,800 beneficiaries, costing Rs 3.36 crores, but the names listed were entirely different from the actual beneficiaries. In another instance, Rs 6.12 crores were allegedly spent on 2,400 beneficiaries, but those intended to benefit received nothing.

The scandal has grown to include multiple development blocks across the district, with discrepancies noted in areas such as Birsing Jaruwa Development Block, Jamadarhat Development Block, and others. In some cases, names of beneficiaries were published without any actual work being completed, further fueling accusations of large-scale fraud.

The public outcry has reached the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, with demands that no further funds be released to the implicated NGOs until all allotted sanitary latrines are physically completed. The Guardian Minister of Dhubri District and the Minister of Public Health Department, Jayanta Malla Baruah, have been criticized for their alleged apathy and negligence in addressing the issue.

An official investigation is being called for by the affected residents, who seek justice and the recovery of misappropriated funds. The scandal serves as a stark reminder of the challenges in ensuring transparency and accountability in government projects meant to benefit the public.