Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, where misappropriation of funds was reported earlier this year, will face no shortage of funds.
“The misappropriation of funds in the Valmiki Corporation should not be a reason for any shortage of funds for the tribal development,” Siddaramaiah told reporters after a meeting on tribal development.
The government will sanction the funds to the Corporation as announced in the Budget in February this year, he said.
Siddaramaiah said there was misappropriation of funds to the tune Rs 89.63 crore, out of which Rs 71.54 crore has been recovered.
The ED had earlier arrested Congress MLA B Nagendra and five other key accused during its probe into the ‘scam’ at the Corporation.\
Nagendra was granted bail by the Special Court for People’s Representatives here on Monday.
He had resigned as the Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister in June following allegations of his involvement in the ‘scam.’
The ED said last week Nagendra has been identified as the primary accused and mastermind behind the scam, allegedly orchestrating it with the help of 24 others.
The ED had said its investigation revealed that under the influence of Nagendra, the account of the corporation was moved to the MG Road Branch without any proper authorisation, where Rs 187 Crore, including Rs. 43.33 Crore from the State Treasury under the Ganga Kalyana Scheme, were deposited without following proper procedures and in violation of government guidelines.
“These funds were subsequently siphoned off through multiple shell accounts and converted into cash and bullion. ED investigation also revealed that an amount of Rs. 20.19 Crore of the diverted funds was used to support a candidate contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Bellary constituency, as well as for the personal expenses of B. Nagendra,” the federal probe agency added.
