Chandigarh,
Following allegations of financial irregularities in the Board of School Education, Haryana (HBSE), Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said the government was ready to order a probe by the State Vigilance Bureau if any documentary evidence was provided to the government.

Sharma made this announcement on the issue raised in the Assembly by INLD MLA Parminder Singh Dhull which was supported by Congress MLAs Kiran Choudhry and some other members.

Dhull alleged that the board got CCTV cameras installed in 543 examination centres across the state for rent of Rs 6,000 apiece for holding the Haryana Teachers’ Eligibility Test (HTET) and paid about Rs 7 crore as rent while such cameras were available in the market for a price of Rs 800 apiece.

The INLD MLA also alleged that honorarium for evaluation of the answersheets was increased to Rs 12 per answersheet putting a huge burden on the exchequer. He further alleged that board chairman Jagbir Singh lives in Hisar and has hence set up a camp office there.

“He moved an application for the rent of the office in May 2017, but claimed it from April 2016,” Dhull alleged.

Congress Legislative Party leader Kiran Choudhry, Gita Bhukkal and some other members of the Opposition also supported Dhull’s allegations and alleged corruption in the board.

Dhull said that since the board was an autonomous body and there was no audit of its account, the corruption was going unchecked.

In reply, Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said that during Bhupinder Singh Hooda regime, nine districts of the state were blacklisted and no centre of the HTET was allowed to be made there.

“Candidates, including women, had to go far off districts to appear in tests and once, eight candidates had died in a road accident while travelling,” the minister said.

Sharma said as far as financial irregularities alleged by the Opposition members were concerned, the government has no problem in ordering a probe if documents are provided as evidence.