Jharkhand: Hemant Soren orders action against officials named in blanket scam

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has ordered departmental and penal action against officials suspected to be involved in the alleged blanket procurement scam worth crores of rupees in 2017-18.

The scam involves diversion of crores of rupees meant to procure over 9 lakh blankets for distribution among the poor and alleged discrepancies in procurement and transport of related goods from Haryana by officials in Jharkhand Silk Textile and Handicraft Development Corporation Limited, popularly known as Jharcraft.

“The CM has given his nod to the proposal for departmental and penal action against officials involved in the blanket procurement scam in Jharcraft after taking the latest update from the anti corruption bureau (ACB) in the matter,” a PRD department official said.

The matter came to light in 2018 during the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) rule and a probe was ordered following a complaint received by the then chief secretary. The audit of the payments had found several discrepancies. The matter was later handed over to the ACB after Hemant Soren took over as the chief minister in December 2019.