Kolkata, July 16 (IANS) The West Bengal mass education extension and library services department has decided to launch a full-fledged probe into alleged irregularities in procurement of books for government-run libraries and also libraries in state-run schools during the Trinamool regime.

Several complaints have been received by the office of the Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, about rampant corruption in purchase of books with pathetic literary or content qualities by the state-run libraries just because these books were either written by relatives or close confidants of Trinamool Congress leaders or were published by publishers enjoying the patronage of the previous ruling party leaders.

The Chief Minister had appraised the mass education extension and library services minister, Gouri Shankar Ghosh about such complaints and also advised the latter to order a detailed probe in the matter, said a senior officer from the said department.

“The matter might also be referred for detailed investigation to the judicial commission headed by former Calcutta High Court Judge, Justice Biswajit Basu (retired) for a detailed probe in the matter,” the mass education extension and library services department official said.

It is learnt that apart from the allegations of rampant corruption in purchase of books there are other angles in the alleged corruption.

One angle is the purchase of the same books written by such favoured writers or published by favoured publishing houses, and that too in bulk for the same state-run libraries year after year, spending money allotted to the department.

At the same time, the department official added, there was total absence of a screening process on which books to be purchased and which to be avoided. “All these lapses will be probed now,” the department official said.

Recently, at a public program, Chief Minister Adhikari had launched a scathing attack against the previous Mamata Banerjee-led regime on this issue and alleged that there had not been a single area in the state government function that had been free of corruption.

“In 1977 after taking over as the Chief Minister, late Jyoti Basu made an interesting observation about the second West Bengal Chief Minister, late Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. Basu said that every sphere of development that he intended to initiate then, was already initiated by Bidhan Chandra Roy before. And now after taking over as the new Chief Minister of West Bengal, I can witness the devastation created by the previous Trinamool Congress in every sphere that I keep my hands on,” the Chief Minister said earlier this month.

–IANS

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