Jajarkot, January 19

There has been irregularity in the social security allowance meant for single women, elderly, Dalits, children and differently-abled people at Majkot and Suwanauli VDCs in Jajarkot.

Using the security allowance for personal work, VDC employees have deprived single women, elderly, Dalits, children and differently-abled people of allowance for the past one week.

Sushila Shahi, an elderly woman from Majkot VDC-6, complained that VDC employees had been using the allowance for their personal work for the past one year. “I have not received allowance for one year” Shahi said.

Asmita Nepali from Badkule of Majkot VDC-8 bemoaned that she had never got more than Rs 800 though she is entitled Rs 2,400 per year.

Locals charge that the Account and Administration Assistant Prem Bahadur Karki at Majkot VDC and Laxmi Prasad Sharma at Suwanauli VDC had used the allowance for their personal benefit.

It has come to light that VDC staffers have been pocketing the fund allocated in the name of the deceased, people who have migrated and others by submitting bogus documents.

Meanwhile, after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority showed serious concern about the anomalies at the two VDCs, Jajarkot DDC has launched investigation.

A DDC team led by Social Security Department Chief Dal Bahadur Gharti has started a field probe on allowance anomalies at Majkot and Suwanauli VDCs.

Preliminary investigation showed that social security allowance was misused by VDC staffers and people from target groups were yet to receive the full allowance, Gharti said.

Gharti said that VDCs staffers had been skipping the registration of deceased people for years, had not been removing single women from their list even after their second marriage, and were making fake ID cards.

“VDC staffers have been found to have pocketed the fund allocated to fake people,” Gharti said. Stating that an investigation was under way, Gharti pledged to punish the guilty staffers.