FEROZEPUR: Many might have seen magicians performing feats of creating or making things disappear in thin air, but Punjab government officials have gone a step further. In 2018-19, they created a village that does not exist in reality but astonishingly spent a whopping Rs 43 lakh on various development projects for this ‘Mr India’ village.
According to information, the location of the village, named New Gatti Rajo Ki, has been shown on government papers as being near Gatti Rajo Ke village, located close to the zero line of the Indo-Pak international border in Ferozepur. However, even Google Maps cannot locate this village. This bizarre case of corruption came to light at the ADC Development Office of Ferozepur district, where officials reportedly created the village on paper and sanctioned over Rs 43 lakh for development projects. With the matter now exposed, efforts are underway to unravel the entire scam.
RTI activist and Block Samiti member Gurdev Singh, a resident of Peer Ismail Khan village, revealed that after a long struggle, he obtained information about the panchayat of Gatti Rajo Ki from the Punjab government. It was then discovered that a separate panchayat had been created for a village named New Gatti Rajo Ki. Upon seeking details under RTI about the grants received by the village, shocking facts came to light.
When the panchayat of the ‘New Gatti Rajo Ki’ village was formed, some officials from the BDPO office in Ferozepur, along with staff from the local ADC Development Office, allegedly set up a fake panchayat under the same name. While the real panchayat received fewer grants and development projects, the fake village got almost double.
RTI findings revealed startling discrepancies, such as 80 MANREGA job cards being made for the real village while 140 were created for the fake one. The real village saw 35 development works, whereas 55 projects were carried out on paper for the non-existent New Gatti Rajo Ki, including cleaning of Army Bundh, cattle sheds, primary school parks, interlocking tiles, village roads, and more. The total scam amount stands at Rs 43 lakh.
Gurdev Singh further stated that after uncovering the RTI disclosures, he filed a complaint with the former Deputy Commissioner of Ferozepur. However, the officer was transferred before the committee’s report on the matter could be finalised. Despite multiple visits, his complaint to the Deputy Director Panchayat Officer (DDPO) of Ferozepur also went unrecorded.
When contacted, Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner Deepshikha Sharma confirmed that a report had been sought on the issue and assured that appropriate action would be taken against those involved in misappropriating government funds. A subordinate employee attributed the issue to confusion between the Punjabi and English names of the village, claiming the grants were used properly. However, he could not clarify how grants were sanctioned separately for the Punjabi-named and English-named villages.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Lakhwinder Singh stated that the matter was under investigation and strict action would follow against anyone found guilty.
Meanwhile, some vigilance officials, on condition of anonymity, suggested the issue might stem from a clerical error due to discrepancies in the Punjabi and English names of the same village. However, several documents suggest enough evidence of a scam, raising doubts about such claims.
While senior vigilance officials dismiss the case as a clerical error, a departmental officer investigating the matter noted that the case appears suspicious. The officer added that records had been requested from the department and the investigation would uncover the truth. Initial findings indicate the existence of two online portals for two different villages, even though New Gatti Rajo Ki does not exist, and Rs 43 lakh was spent on its development.
