New Delhi: After Vyapam, another major scam related to ghost employees has been busted in Madhya Pradesh. The new scam is said to involve approximately 50,000 ‘ghost’ government employees. These ghost employees now constitute nearly 9 per cent of the state government workforce. The new revelations about these “employees” have raised concerns about a potential Rs 230-crore salary scam.
The leaked documents revealed that these employees are listed in official records with assigned names and employee codes. However, their salary payments has not been since December 2024, according to a report in NDTV. The Commissioner of Treasury and Accounts (CTA) issued a letter on May 23 to all drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) seeking explanations on why the salaries of the said employees were not disbursed.
The letter stated that while these employees exist in the Integrated Financial Management information System (IFMIS), their verification is incomplete and the exit process has not been executed either. The incident has placed over 6,000 DDOs under intense scrutiny on whether these cases are administrative oversight or deliberate fraud.
Bhaskar Lakshkar, the Commissioner of Treasury and Accounts said that the inquiry in this matter aims to prevent potential embezzlement. “We conduct data analysis regularly, and this discrepancy was observed. I further clarify unambiguously that it’s not that salary is being drawn against these accounts. This inquiry tries to curb the risk of probable embezzlement which may occur,” he told NDTV.
The investigation has raised multiple questions regarding the integrity of the state’s financial management systems
It further raises important questions regarding how the departments have been functioning in the absence of these 9 per cent staff, the report said.
Finance Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Jagdish Devda was approached regarding the alleged scam but he said, “Well… whatever process is followed, it is done according to rules.”
