Hyderabad: Senior bureaucrat Poonam Malakondaiah has committed a financial irregularity to the tune of Rs 54 crore in Andhra Pradesh. While the state government could recover Rs 36 crore, its efforts to realise the remaining amount from a beneficiary contractor are yielding no result. Poonam is currently special chief secretary of the agriculture department.
She had transferred Rs 54 crore to Powermech-BSCPL, a private consortium engaged in developing AP Medtech Zone (AMTZ) during her stint in the health department a few years ago.
“Transfer of amount was highly irregular and against the rules of the Central government. It tarnishes the image of the state government,” said K. Bhaskar, the commissioner of health and family welfare, in a communication to the government.
Bhaskar, who is also director, National Health Mission, shot off a letter to K.S. Jawahar Reddy, then Special CS, health, after noticing the irregularity committed by Poonam.
As per the guidelines of the NHM, funds should be used only for the activities approved under record of proceedings issued by the Centre, he said. The private consortium, however, is not assigned any activities under NHM and there is no relation between it and NHM, he pointed out.
Deccan Chronicle had earlier reported about the missing of Rs 18 crore from the NHM kitty and about the audit firm raising serious objections over the non-receipt of the amount. It also highlighted that Rs 54 crore was released to the contractor twice within two days based on the same invoice, which again is a serious lapse on the part of Poonam.
Documentary evidence available with this newspaper establishes that she had released the amount to the contractor at the behest of Dr Jitender Sharma, the tainted managing director of AMTZ. (Proceeding No 03/AMTZ/2014 dated November 19, 2018). The company, however, did not repay the amount till date.
The state vigilance and enforcement department has already submitted a preliminary investigation report on AMTZ in which it pointed out financial and administrative lapses committed by Poonam and Dr Sharma.
In another case, former chief secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam sought Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s permission to register a case by the Criminal Investigation Department to investigate administrative and procedural lapses in health department projects that resulted in huge financial loss to the exchequer. “Poonam was special CS, health at the time the lapses took place,” he pointed out.
