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Economic Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
How Maharashtra education officers created thousands of ghost teachers to siphon off Rs 3,000 crore
A major scam has been unearthed in Maharashtra's education sector. Officials allegedly created fake teacher identities on the Shalarth portal. This was done to embezzle public funds. The estimated amount is between Rs 2,000 to 3,000 crore. Some arrests have been made. A Special Investigation Team is probing the matter. The scam involved multiple zones including Mumbai and Nagpur. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What is a Shalarth ID? How the scam was carried out Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Weaknesses in the system Bribes for backdated dues Extent of the scam and official action Need for stronger checks Senior education officials in Maharashtra have been accused of creating thousands of fake teacher identities on the government's salary and HR portal, Shalarth, to siphon off public money. The scam, which involves both Mumbai and Nagpur zones, could be worth Rs 2,000 to 3,000 crore, according to government estimates. Some arrests have already been made and the state government has announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter, a TOI report stated.A Shalarth ID is a unique identity issued to government and aided school teachers and staff in Maharashtra. It is required to access salary, benefits, and employment deputy director of education Ram Pawar said, "Once there is a vacancy and the school has selected the candidate, the school issues an appointment order. The candidate then takes this appointment order to the deputy director of education of that zone, who approves it and provides the candidate with a Shalarth ID and password. This ID is used to access salary and benefits, without it, the candidate cannot be paid."The Shalarth portal also stores financial and personnel data for all education employees in the to Pawar, the authority to issue Shalarth IDs rests with the deputy director of education. The scam involved issuing bogus IDs to fictitious individuals. Bank accounts were opened using fake documents and photos, and salaries were withdrawn in their have also been accused of issuing Shalarth IDs to unqualified individuals who secured jobs as teachers and headmasters after allegedly paying bribes ranging from Rs 20 to 30 lakh to school management and government government-run schools have tighter oversight, aided schools in Maharashtra operate with limited scrutiny. This gap allowed some officials to exploit the system by appointing unqualified people, creating fake job posts, and withdrawing salaries in their Nagpur, fake IDs were allegedly given to teachers and staff who bribed school management and education officers. Teachers and other staff have also been accused of helping officials generate fake IDs and bank accounts in return for a share of the siphoned addition to fake appointments, officials allegedly demanded bribes from genuine teachers to release backdated dues and salary increments after July 18, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state assembly that the scam may involve Rs 2,000-3,000 crore. A Special Investigation Team has been set up to school education minister Dada Bhuse has suspended Mumbai's deputy director Sandeep Sangave. Ulhas Narad, deputy director of education for Nagpur, has been education official Ram Pawar said, "An earnest effort must be made to examine records. The process cannot be top-down. Whatever the upper management decides, the onus must be on field officers who need to conduct rigorous checks."
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
How Maharashtra education officers created thousands of ghost teachers to siphon off Rs 3,000 crore
A major scam has been unearthed in Maharashtra's education sector. Officials allegedly created fake teacher identities on the Shalarth portal. This was done to embezzle public funds. The estimated amount is between Rs 2,000 to 3,000 crore. Some arrests have been made. A Special Investigation Team is probing the matter. The scam involved multiple zones including Mumbai and Nagpur. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What is a Shalarth ID? How the scam was carried out Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Weaknesses in the system Bribes for backdated dues Extent of the scam and official action Need for stronger checks Senior education officials in Maharashtra have been accused of creating thousands of fake teacher identities on the government's salary and HR portal, Shalarth, to siphon off public money. The scam, which involves both Mumbai and Nagpur zones, could be worth Rs 2,000 to 3,000 crore, according to government estimates. Some arrests have already been made and the state government has announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter, a TOI report stated.A Shalarth ID is a unique identity issued to government and aided school teachers and staff in Maharashtra. It is required to access salary, benefits, and employment deputy director of education Ram Pawar said, "Once there is a vacancy and the school has selected the candidate, the school issues an appointment order. The candidate then takes this appointment order to the deputy director of education of that zone, who approves it and provides the candidate with a Shalarth ID and password. This ID is used to access salary and benefits, without it, the candidate cannot be paid."The Shalarth portal also stores financial and personnel data for all education employees in the to Pawar, the authority to issue Shalarth IDs rests with the deputy director of education. The scam involved issuing bogus IDs to fictitious individuals. Bank accounts were opened using fake documents and photos, and salaries were withdrawn in their have also been accused of issuing Shalarth IDs to unqualified individuals who secured jobs as teachers and headmasters after allegedly paying bribes ranging from Rs 20 to 30 lakh to school management and government government-run schools have tighter oversight, aided schools in Maharashtra operate with limited scrutiny. This gap allowed some officials to exploit the system by appointing unqualified people, creating fake job posts, and withdrawing salaries in their Nagpur, fake IDs were allegedly given to teachers and staff who bribed school management and education officers. Teachers and other staff have also been accused of helping officials generate fake IDs and bank accounts in return for a share of the siphoned addition to fake appointments, officials allegedly demanded bribes from genuine teachers to release backdated dues and salary increments after July 18, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state assembly that the scam may involve Rs 2,000-3,000 crore. A Special Investigation Team has been set up to school education minister Dada Bhuse has suspended Mumbai's deputy director Sandeep Sangave. Ulhas Narad, deputy director of education for Nagpur, has been education official Ram Pawar said, "An earnest effort must be made to examine records. The process cannot be top-down. Whatever the upper management decides, the onus must be on field officers who need to conduct rigorous checks."
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Fake IDs & Fraudulent Salaries: Inside Govt Teacher Portal Scam
Senior education officers in the Maharashtra govt have been accused of misusing a govt-run payments portal to create fake teacher IDs and siphoning funds. Fraudulent Shalarth IDs were also created for unqualified individuals, who were allegedly hired after paying a bribe of Rs 20 to 30 lakhs each to school management and education department officials. The IDs given when a teacher is recruited, are needed to access salary and other benefits. The deputy directors of education of Mumbai and Nagpur zones allegedly, between them, created thousands of fake IDs. Govt estimates the scope of the scam to be Rs 2,000-3,000 crore. Some arrests have already been made What is a Shalarth ID? Former deputy director of education Ram Pawar explains, "Once there is a vacancy and the school has selected the candidate, the school issues an appointment order. The candidate then takes this appointment order to the deputy director of education of that zone, who approves it and provides the candidate with a Shalarth ID and password. This ID is used to access salary and benefits—without it, the candidate cannot be paid. " The Shalarth portal also houses financial information and personnel records for all education staffers. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai What is the scam? According to Ram Pawar, the authority to issue Shalarth IDs rests with the deputy director of education. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Officials at the office have created bogus IDs and drawn salaries for fictitious individuals, for whom bank accounts were opened using fake credentials and fake photographs. Officials have also been accused of issuing Shalarth IDs and hiring unqualified people for posts of teachers and headmasters for a bribe. What were the loopholes exploited by govt staff? Scope for manipulation is minimal in govt-run schools as employment records are available for scrutiny within the administration and due to the regulations which staff need to follow. But govt oversight of the records of aided schools is limited. This allowed those managing the portal to appoint unqualified individuals and even create fake posts and withdraw salaries in their name. Other weaknesses in the system Misuse of the portal has been reported across the state. In Nagpur, unqualified teachers, headmasters, and other staff were accused of holding fake Shalarth IDs that were obtained after paying bribes to school management and education department staffers. Deputy director of education for Nagpur, Ulhas Narad, has been arrested. In many cases, teachers and other school staff helped govt officers to create fake IDs and bank accounts for a share of the loot. Also, govt staff demanded bribes to give eligible teachers backdated dues and increments after promotion (see report alongside). What is the extent of the scam? On July 18, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced in the state assembly that the Shalarth ID scam could amount to Rs 2,000-3,000 crore. He announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team to probe the ID scam. Dada Bhuse, the state school education minister, has meantime suspended the Mumbai deputy director, Sandeep Sangave. Checks needed in the system Former deputy director Ram Pawar says, "An earnest effort must be made to examine records. The process cannot be top-down. Whatever the upper management decides, the onus must be on field officers who need to conduct rigorous checks."
