MP school education dept tops list in Rs 648-crore payment probe

Madhya Pradesh's School Education Department has emerged as the most-flagged department in a state-wide investigation into suspected irregularities in government payments totalling Rs 648 crore. The probe, conducted by the State Financial Intelligence Cell (SFIC), has identified 187 Drawing and Disbursing Offices (DDOs) across departments for scrutiny.

Of these, 45 DDOs belong to the school education department — the highest from any single department. The revenue department follows with 43 flagged offices, and tribal affairs with 26. The state police accounts for 12, forest nine, and health eight, while higher education and public works departments have five each.

The SFIC has identified Rs 349 crore in irregular transfers and another Rs 299 crore in suspicious, fraudulent, duplicate, or excess payments, together amounting to Rs 648 crore under review since 2023. A senior official from the state's Accounts and Treasury Department clarified that the figure represents data collected from districts and has not been officially communicated to the finance department. The official noted that cases emerge when the system flags discrepancies, and only after investigation can it be determined whether funds were siphoned off or the transactions were genuine.

Separately, the probe has identified around Rs 305 crore in 199 suspicious transactions involving transfers to private bank accounts linked to officials and employees, including accounts of spouses and relatives. Another Rs 293 crore meant to remain in Treasury Personal Deposit accounts was transferred to other bank accounts.

The SFIC, constituted on May 9, 2023, under the Directorate of Treasuries and Accounts, analyses data from the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to spot deviations from normal payment processes. The investigation has found vulnerabilities, including duplicate employee codes that could enable duplicate payments, shared DDO login passwords, changed registered mobile numbers potentially diverting OTPs, and mismatched employee records.

Recovery efforts have yielded results, with Rs 56 crore recovered and Rs 164 crore in irregular transfers reversed, totalling around Rs 220 crore. Officials said FIRs have been registered against at least 50 officials over the past three years. The government has since introduced safeguards, including system validation to prevent duplicate employee codes, restrictions on mobile number changes, and mandatory two-factor authentication for system logins.