Utilizing his dwelling as a “firm visitor home” and funding private family bills by means of the corporate; getting exorbitant medical payments and different expenditure reimbursed; getting the corporate to pay long-term visa payment for international journey on private passport for a interval properly after his retirement; misuse of official automotive.
Within the wake of those allegations of economic misconduct and misuse of place, the Ministry of Railways Saturday stripped Amitabh Banerjee of his powers as Chairman and Managing Director of its PSU Indian Railway Finance Company (IRFC).
The IRFC is a top-rated, Schedule A PSU owned by Railways. It lends cash to Railways for buy of rolling inventory and, of late, creation of infrastructure belongings.
The motion in opposition to Banerjee comes shut on the heels of the federal government sacking Nationwide Excessive Pace Rail Company MD Satish Agnihotri over corruption allegations.
A vigilance probe by Railways, following a whistleblower criticism, discovered that Banerjee, who joined the civil service as an officer of the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), moved together with his household right into a four-bedroom home in New Delhi’s Inexperienced Park Extension in January 2020 after getting the corporate to take the home on lease for round Rs 2 lakh monthly because the IRFC “visitor home”.
Being the one occupants of the “visitor home”, the Banerjee household bought their day-to-day bills, groceries, greens, dry fruits, pc mouse, sanitary gadgets, fittings, fixture, recharge of utilities paid by the corporate as bills to run the “visitor home”.
There are paperwork to indicate bills described as “meals gadgets” – usually with none invoice quantity – listed for reimbursement. Bills of consumables ranged round Rs 30,000 a month.
The visitor home has proven “meals gadgets” bought a number of occasions throughout a day, each month, of assorted quantities largely below Rs 1000 and generally greater than that.
There are a variety of entries described as “miscellaneous gadgets” together with a Consumers Cease invoice of Rs 9,000. A number of are from “SIX to TEN”, “Tremendous Marche”, “Reliance Recent” and so on, as per the paperwork.
The “visitor home” bought a fridge, TV, washer and so on rented at Rs 70,000 monthly, based on the vigilance criticism which mentioned the rental funds are finally greater than the worth of the belongings.
Round the clock assist, together with prepare dinner, helper, and cleansing employees have been additionally deployed in the home for the household at firm expense on account of the so-called visitor home.
Banerjee vacated the premises not too long ago and shifted to a home in Kailash Colony on his personal lease.
In one other set of allegations being probed by Railways, Banerjee bought a 10-year UK visa in 2019 for his official journey to the nation for which he claimed a visa payment of round Rs 98,000. The vigilance probe questioned why the corporate paid for the costly 10-year visa on his private (non-official) passport when Banerjee is because of retire in 2023. The vigilance requested why a less expensive, short-duration visa was not taken.
Paperwork confirmed that crimson flags have been raised throughout the firm earlier than authorising this fee however Banerjee, because the CMD, prevailed.
“The monetary implication of the assorted alleged misconduct will not be a lot however they’re misuse of energy and misconduct nonetheless, and definitely unbecoming of a CMD of a PSU,” a high Railway ministry supply advised The Indian Specific. “That’s why he has been divested of his powers. He can’t be eliminated outright with out approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cupboard, which can take round two-three months,” the supply mentioned.
Saturday’s order by the Railway ministry requested Director Finance of the corporate, Shelly Verma, to train the powers of CMD for 3 months.
In one other set of allegations, Banerjee employed an ambulance from a non-public vendor for his ailing mom in the course of the second wave of the Covid pandemic in April final 12 months and took a reimbursement of Rs 1.54 lakh as ambulance cost to move the affected person from Inexperienced Park to Apollo Hospital in Jasola. Paperwork present this expenditure didn’t have a invoice. One other ambulance was employed for Rs 19,000 to shift the affected person from Apollo to the Northern Railway hospital. There have been extra bills like Rs 10500 for oxygen refill and so on which have been reimbursed, as per the information.
Banerjee was appointed on October 12, 2019. Paperwork present that from October 14 to November 2, 2019, his workplace incurred expenditure of Rs 77,000 to buy even private home goods.
Among the gadgets purchased have been: Ball pens: Rs 2,290; photograph capturing: Rs 8,000; Consumers Cease gadgets (towels, wall clock, glass, vacuum bottle, service tray and coaster): Rs 33,462; Towels: Rs 3,000; Sensible Bulb: Rs 14,612; Labour cost: Rs 6,000.
“All of the allegations are frivolous. This can be a vendetta in opposition to me,” Banerjee advised The Indian Specific Sunday.
On the allegations, he mentioned the chargesheet by the vigilance is simply on two gadgets – the visitor home and the UK visa.
“The Board of Administrators permitted leasing of the home as ‘administrators’ visitor home’. It had 4 bedrooms. My spouse and I stayed in a single room whereas the opposite three remained unoccupied. There was no different occupant as a result of it was largely the lockdown interval,” he mentioned.
Banerjee mentioned that to remain within the visitor home, he paid a payment of Rs 27,000 monthly.
“The bills proven by the visitor home is as a result of we stayed there. Why else am I paying Rs 900 per day to the visitor home?” he mentioned.
Banerjee mentioned that after he got here to Delhi from Konkan Railway (his earlier posting as Director Finance) in Mumbai, the Railway ministry had permitted a Sort 5 authorities lodging for him. However no home was vacant.
“So, after the approval of the IRFC Board of Administrators, we tried to buy a home as a everlasting firm visitor home. When nothing materialised, the corporate took the property on lease. Throughout this time, I didn’t take Rs 1.4 lakh monthly of home allowance I’m entitled to,” he mentioned.
Relating to the visa payment, Banerjee mentioned that the 10-year visa was on the discretion of the visa issuing authority. “It’s the visa issuing authority that finally decides the period of the visa, it doesn’t matter what the applicant asks. In any case, the distinction between the payment for a shorter visa and a 10-year-visa is meagre. I should not have a crimson (official) passport and we didn’t have time to get one at the moment,” he mentioned.
Paperwork present that as IRFC MD, he made a number of journeys to UK, Singapore together with different officers for “roadshows” to lift funds. Sources mentioned the railway vigilance was wanting into bills incurred throughout these journeys.
On the medical payments, he mentioned his ailing mom was on a ventilator whereas in transit in the course of the “second wave of Covid” and that “his individuals” organized the ambulance on the time of want.
By the way, Banerjee was amongst these named in a previous probe by the CBI into bamboo procurement by the Hindustan Paper Company Restricted the place he was Director Finance. Sources mentioned the CBI subsequently filed a closure report within the matter with out prices.