Citing several irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the Handlooms and Textiles department, BJP leader Jagadish Shettar has demanded the resignation of Textiles Minister Baburao Chinchansur. He said on Saturday, the department had incurred a loss of Rs 6.17 crore under the Suvarna Vastra Neeti scheme (2008-13).
The department had outsourced the training programme under the scheme to ILFS company, which was appointed as the scheme management agency. However, the company had failed to impart any training. Despite this, Rs 6.17 crore was paid to the firm, he said.
Following this, a “corruption and misappropriation” complaint had been filed before the Lokayukta (August 3, 2015) against four officials – Vijaykumar Nirali (former project director textiles), Srinivasmurthy (former managing director KSTIDC), Suresh Kumar (former deputy director - training), and Gangaiah (former assistant director).
The names of IAS officers Tushar Girinath and Rathna Prabha too figure in the complaint alleging that as heads of the Commerce and Industries department, they had “failed” to take any action, as per the complaint.
Shettar said an inquiry had been conducted, but no action had been taken against the officials. “Chinchansur is protecting these officials, it looks like he is involved in the scam,” he said.
The BJP leader alleged that there were several instances of creation of bogus documents and misuse of funds under various programmes and schemes of the department, and sought a detailed probe into the affairs of the department.