News

Volume 3 Issue 17 - September 01, 2005

Five Andhra disability NGO’s implicated for abuse of funds

D.N.I.S. News Network - Five Non Governmental Organisations (N.G.O.) in Andhra Pradesh, which run special schools for disabled children, have been implicated for blatant misuse of funds by an inquiry by the State’s vigilance wing.

All five of them, raided by officials from the general administration, are receiving government aid. “The situation is horrible,” an official was quoted as saying after the unannounced swoop during which the irregularities were discovered. These N.G.Os received a combined grant of Rs. 1.15 crore from the State and Union Government.

The officials found that the N.G.Os had given exaggerated figures about the number of students and were drawing scholarships in their names from the government agencies. According to a media report, the Welfare Department has issued showcause notices to all these organisations. The rot of corruption runs deep, as some assistant directors are also believed to be involved in conniving with these organisations in siphoning off funds meant for education of disabled children.

There are fears that more N.G.Os may be involved in similar corruption. “There are 20 special schools run by the Department in Mabhubnagar, Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad and Nalgonda,” a senior vigilance official said.

Thakur Hariprasad Institute, one of the organisations implicated, claims to have about 380 students, but officials found that it only had 340 students. Anurag Home Services showed 260 students while the actual number was 230. Not only this, violating regulations to provide free education, the NGOs were collecting fee from parents of disabled children.