Second part of the report of the Indian Express on the Flood relief
Scam in Bihar.
Vagish

Indian Express, 25 April 2005
THE BIHAR FLOOD SCAM - PART II
Relief truck sets out with sattu, delivers polythene bags
BIHAR: Rs 37 lakh for stay of flood relief crew, Rs 11 lakh for their
snacks while more than 800 drowned and five fell to police bullets in
fight for relief
VARGHESE K GEORGE
Posted online: Monday, April 25, 2005 at 0221 hours IST

PATNA, APRIL 24: If the Bihar Flood Scam, exposed by The Sunday
Express yesterday, is a shocking story of relief funds being swindled
while more than 800 drowned in the swirling waters last July-August
and at least five fell to police bullets in relief riots, details of
how officials cooked up bills to divert money borders on the bizarre.
Records maintained by former Patna DM Gautam Goswami, a high-profile
IAS officer who was selected by Time magazine as an Asian Hero, gives
away the scandal easily: one truck, for instance, is shown to have
carried sattu (roasted gram flour) from Patna to Khagaria while it
actually delivered polythene bags.
A shocking string of similar discrepancies have surfaced in the audit
ordered into the flood relief efforts by Sudhir Kumar, Patna DM, who
took charge after Goswami quit the service to join the Sahara group
four months ago.
And an investigation by The Indian Express, backed by official
documents, shows that the Government cannot explain what happened to
most of the Rs 17 crore it had spent on flood relief (see box).
According to sources, an audit by Patna district administration early
this month has pegged the maximum worth of relief material actually
supplied to flood victims between July-August 2004 at Rs 7 crore.
The movement of relief material is supposed to have been recorded at
three different places: in a daily despatch register, in receipts
collected from destinations and in reports sent to the relief
commissioner for funds.
But in most cases, these documents do not match.
The Indian Express has a copy of one such official document that
traces relief material movement on July 22, 2004:
• The despatch register shows that 18 trucks left for Khagaria and
Samastipur. As per receipts, 11 trucks reached these destinations
between July 22-23. But the list sent to the relief commissioner shows
that 20 trucks were despatched during that period—in only one case
does the truck numbers in the despatch register and the receipt match.
• Documents show that truck number BR 1C 7600 left Patna on July 22
with 4,000 kg of polythene and reached Khagaria next day—with the same
amount of firewood.
• Receipts reveal that truck number BR 1G 6978 supplied 1.9 tonnes of
plastic to Khagaria, but in other documents the same vehicle is shown
to have carried sattu.

Then again, expenditure records on hotels and restaurants show that
while the flood victims waited, relief seemed to be flowing in a
different direction. Consider these:
• During this period, bills for tea and snacks at Patna's Airport
Restaurant ran up to Rs 11 lakh in less than a month—another coffee
house was paid Rs 2 lakh.

• Maurya, Samrat and Pataliputra hotels were paid Rs 15 lakh, Rs 10
lakh and 12 lakh, respectively, for accommodation of IAF crew flying
relief material.

But the then Patna DM, Goswami, wrote to the relief department saying
''nearly Rs 1 crore'' was spent on the crew. Goswami wrote on August
13: ''We have spent nearly Rs 1 crore on crew members... and another
Rs 75 lakh spent on jawans and their vehicles... It may please be
noted that suppliers and hotels have already submitted bills... and
their payment is extremely urgent.''
No bill from any hotel was, or is, pending with the Patna district
administration.
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Box Item
WHAT SURFACED AFTER THE GREAT FLOOD

An investigation by The Indian Express, backed by official documents,
showed that Patna's DM Gautam Goswami got Rs 13 crore as flood relief.
He added another Rs 5 crore which the Chief Secretary alleges were
diverted from Railway funds.
Goswami paid Rs 17.18 crore to Bihar Small Scale Industries
Corporation (BSSIC), the organisation in charge of supplying relief
material.
But BSSIC says it supplied material worth only Rs 22 lakh and has so
far been paid only Rs 13 lakh. The rest of the money, documents show,
went to an employee of BSSIC, one B K Singh.
BSSIC says there is no employee by that name. Reached for his comments
in Lucknow, Goswami denied there was a scam and said his name was
dragged into it because people were jealous of him.
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