Recruitment scam: Staff audit likely in Bengal urban civic bodies

Kolkata, April 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Amid evidence accumulated by Enforcement Directorate (ED) about "massive irregularities" in recruitment of clerks and workers in different municipalities in West Bengal, the state Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Department is considering conducting a staff audit in all the state's municipalities.

Recently, while the ED conducted raid and search operations at private promoter Ayan Sil's residence in connection with the multi-crore scam in recruitment of teaching and non- teaching staff in state-run schools, the central agency officials procured incriminating documents relating his involvement in similar recruitment scams in different municipalities in the state.

ED counsel also made submissions in the special court of Prevention of Money Laundering Act mentioning this point.

Soon after that state Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Minister, Firhad Hakim, who is also the mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, said that he has asked his department officials to closely monitor and examine the information that is evolving in the matter and keep all documents ready for any probable internal enquiry by his department in the matter.

Now, sources from the department said that the staff audit will be the first step on this count to have any idea about the probable irregularities on this count.

It is learnt that the proposed staff audit might be conducted in three phases. The first phase will cover those municipalities which are close to Kolkata. In the second phase, the remaining municipalities in the South Bengal districts will be covered. In the third and final phase, the audit will be at the municipalities in North Bengal.

Source: IANS