Guj CM promises to discharge teachers from quake debris scam

In a major relief to the 572 teachers accused in the multi-crore debris removal scam post the 2001 earthquake, Chief Minister Anandi Patel today said all of them will be discharged from the case.
"The file (of teachers who had sought to be discharged from the scam) was pending before the Home Department, which is with me and I will clear it either on Monday or on Tuesday and will release all of you from the charges," Patel said today during a meet of the state's primary teachers in Gandhinagar.
In 2003, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) had unearthed the Rs 13 crore scam and accused as many as 900 people, including teachers, of making bogus bills as payment to contractors for removal of post-quake debris, that had either been removed or did not exist at all.

The state agency had acted on various complaints filed in Bhuj, Rapar, Bhachau, Anjar, Gandhidham and Mundra talukas in Kutch district.
In December 2001, the Gujarat government had issued a GR for removal of debris in Kutch district. It stated that the rubbish could be removed by the village committees comprising sarpanch, teachers and prominent persons from a village.
Those panels were formed only in those villages, where fifty or more houses were destroyed in the earth-quake and for each house, it was decided to pay Rs 1,500, said the ACB complaint.

Around 109 lakh tonnes of debris was removed and the state government had paid Rs 70 crore for the work. However, during the course of investigation, it was revealed that around Rs 13 crore was paid for no work, it said.

However, a state-based teachers' union had constantly pressed their demand saying the teachers were falsely implicated in the case and wrote to the home department to release them.
"We have made a demand to the Chief Minister to release our 572 teachers from the charges of the scam as they were falsely implicated. Besides, they remained deprived from the benefits like promotion or increment for 14 long years. Today Anandiben announced that her government will discharge them," President of Primary Teachers Association in Gujarat, Chandu Joshi told reporters here today.
Gujarat had witnessed the devastating tragedy on January 26, 2001, when the earthquake claimed thousands of lives and properties worth crores of rupees was flattened within seconds.