Author: Subrata Nagchoudhury
Publication: The India Express
Date: February 11, 2008
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/271256.html
Rs 18 cr was siphoned off from Kolkata's Indian
Museum between 2004-06, finds probe.
A well-networked cartel at the Indian Museum
in Kolkata, one of the biggest repositories of the country's cultural and
historical heritage, has been siphoning off crores of rupees under the pretext
of preserving priceless artifacts, a probe has found.
A recent investigation by a central government
team has detected a scam that involved misappropriation of funds to the tune
of Rs18 crore between 2004 and 2006. The magnitude of the scam could be even
bigger, say investigators.
The fund was meant for gallery renovations
for the Indian Museum, National Library, Rabindra Bharati University Library
and Guru Saday Museum in West Bengal and for improvement of the state museums
of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Assam Sankardev Kalakshetra Museum, Guwahati.
Highly-placed sources said West Bengal Governor
Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, played a key
role in pursuing the initial leads about the malpractices. A thorough probe
by officials of the Central Government later revealed that at least Rs18 crore
had been siphoned off.
"This may just be the tip of the iceberg,"
said an official of the team, expressing serious concern about the existence
of priceless antiques supposed to be lying in the stores. Only a small fraction
of the Indian Museum's collection is displayed in the galleries, while the
rest are kept in stores and have not been verfied for years.
In September 2007, prior to the investigation
by the central team, the CBI had even conducted a raid on the museum. A CBI
official confirmed that documents were seized but refused to elaborate about
the progress in the case.
When contacted, S K Basu, the former director
of the museum during whose tenure the money was allegedly siphoned off, said:
"I do not remember if there was any malpractice. I retired in May 2006
and I won't be able to tell you anything."
Asked if anyone from the investigating agency
had been in touch with him, Basu refused to comment. Investigators said Basu
retired without settling huge advances taken from the museum fund.
The present acting director of the museum,
Professor Chitta Panda, said: "The case had been handed over to the CBI."
Asked if there had been any follow-up action, Panda, said he would not be
able to comment.
A detailed report on the scam was sent to
the Union Ministry of Culture, which administers the Museum and provides funds.
But no action has been taken yet. When contacted, CAG Principal Director Govind
Bhattacharya said he was not authorised to disclose the findings of the investigation
before it was placed in Parliament.
The Racket
o The Meghalaya Museum sent a proposal for
stuffing 350 animals. The Indian Museum authorities sanctioned stuffing of
28 animals at a cost of Rs 2 lakh. Instead of sending a cheque, the money
was reportedly sent in cash from Kolkata and paid to a person who claimed
to be a zoology professor in Guwahati University. There is no record of either
the stuffed animals or the person to whom the money was paid.
o Webel electronics, a West Bengal Government
undertaking, offered walkie-talkie sets for Rs 14,000 each. But the museum
authorities bought 30 sets from a private firm that charged Rs 42,000 apiece.
o Despite having three vehicles, cars were
reportedly hired on the pretext of providing services to the members in the
board of trustees and other museum employees. Over Rs 25 lakh was spent between
2005-06 on hiring vehicles. Another Rs 15 lakh was shown as fuel expenditure
for the museum's own vehicles.
The Cartel
o Of the 16 agencies enlisted by the museum
authorities for renovation of galleries, nine did not have the required financial
solvency to qualify. Several bagged the contracts on fake IT returns.
o The directors, partners of several of these
agencies through which Rs18 crore was spent were related to each other. The
partners of some agencies were the directors in others, the directors in some
were partners in others.
o Museum authorities advertised the tender
notice in Echo of India, a little-known Kolkata tabloid.
o The estimates for jobs and the payments
were identical in many cases.
o The estimates for most jobs was approved
by a private consultant who did not have an engineering background. The normal
practice is to obtain approval of the Central Public Works Department.
o There was no measurement for work, no basic
records of material and no verification of the actual work done. No official
from the Indian Museum, Kolkata visited the state museums in the Northeast
for verification of work for which payments were reportedly made.
