Andhra Pradesh: Vigilance raids reveal role of official in ITI fee hike
Vijayawada: Vigilance raids on several ITIs across the state have been slowly revealing links of arrested joint-director, Employment and Training, G. Muni Venkata Narayana with scamsters.
In fact, Narayana had played a key role in hiking ITI fee from Rs 7,500 to Rs 16,500 to benefit private ITI colleges, which was found in the investigations of both ACB and Vigilance departments. He fell in the ACB net last month.
Corrupt practices of some personnel in the Labour Employment Training and Factories department, who had brought a GO with Rt. No. 173 in March, had stumped ACB sleuths.
Narayana had reportedly collected Rs 3 crore from the Private ITI Colleges Asso-ciation to bring this GO, which had badly affected students of ITI training and other vocational courses.
Narayana reportedly took Rs 25 lakh at a lodge in Hyderabad, according to Vigilance sources. According to ACB officials, they had inputs that Narayana was involved in bigger scams worth around Rs 325 crore and investigations were on to identify other accused.
Narayana’s alleged involvement in sanction of private ITI colleges, allocation of examination centres to conduct exams at their own places by private colleges, to pass students in examinations, and for transfers and promotions of officials within department are bei-ng separately investigated by the ACB and Vigilance.
Following the GO, private colleges started collecting hefty fee from students.
It was noticed by the Vigilance that a few private colleges had started allowing mass copying during the time of examinations.
As a result, almost complete pass percentage was recorded in private ITI colleges in the past 10 years, and some ITI centres even got national excellence awards also. But, a majority of students have passed without acquiring any technical expertise over prescribed subjects.
Rs 80 crore diverted from MES plan: Vigilance
The Vigilance has also started examining facts related to a major misappropriation of Rs 80-crore funds of the allotted Rs 100 crore for Modular Employability Skill (MES) programme for unskilled and semi-skilled people.
It was noticed that Rs 100-crore funds were diverted from the allotted '300 cro-re in Vocational Training Improvement Project (VTIP) and Public Private Partnership (PPP) programmes for Andhra Pradesh.
The Vigilance noted that in nexus with administrative officials, majority of private college managements across the state had procured equipment and other required material of sub standard quality at high rates, that too from one single private firm owned by Unnam Satish, who is in connivance with officials and private ITI managements since a long time. Satish agreed to pay a bribe of Rs 6 crore to officials and had already delivered Rs 2 crore.
Now, the Vigilance is estimating the quantum of funds misappropriated of the total '120 crore that was allocated for procurements. The Vigilance is also trying to get details of various bogus vocational training providers (VTPs). It is learnt that around '80-crore funds were misused by showing fake statistics of students.
Former RTC regional chairman and TD leader Yeddula Subbarayudu is Narayana’s relative, according to sources. Recently, Subbarayudu had claimed that assets in the name of Narayana were given by him as Narayana married his daughter. The ACB recently seized movable and immovable properties and promissory notes of G.M.V. Narayana worth '100 crore.
