Shalarth scam: Only 1 teacher out of 431 under the lens passes muster

Nagpur: Only 1 teacher out of 431 cases examined so far was found to possess valid individual approval documents in the Shalarth ID scrutiny that triggered a major education department scam probe in Nagpur division. The remaining 430 approvals were declared invalid after a detailed hearing process, exposing what officials described as large-scale irregularities in the generation of Shalarth IDs and disbursement of govt salary grants.The scrutiny began after an FIR (No. 0024/2025) was registered on March 12, 2025, at the cyber police station in Nagpur, following allegations that Shalarth IDs were created without proper approval orders and salaries were released from the treasury. The investigation led to the arrest of multiple officials, including four senior level officials, officers from Class-1 and Class-2 ranks, Class-3 employees, a teacher, a non-teaching staff member, and several management representatives.
An inquiry covering the period between March 31, 2019 and March 31, 2025, was ordered by the commissioner (education) under which total 1,056 teachers and non-teaching staff were examined. Of these, 383 had Shalarth IDs formally issued through official orders. However, in 632 cases, no records of individual approval or Shalarth ID files were available in the office of the education officer (primary), zilla parishad, Nagpur. Hearings for these 632 cases were conducted from September 16, 2025, and concluded on January 30, 2026. Only 195 teachers and 165 headmasters appeared during the proceedings. After scrutiny of documents, 431 cases were decided, and just one teacher — Sunil Sadashiv Govardipe — was found to have valid approval based on available records. His salary, which was stopped from March 2025, was restored.In the remaining 430 cases, officials noted serious deficiencies: Absence of original approval files, missing advertisements for recruitment, lack of school resolutions, no appointment or joining reports, mismatches in inward register entries, and appointments dating back to 2010–2015 despite salary payments commencing only after 2019.With the approvals declared invalid, the department initiated recovery of salaries already paid and fixed responsibility on concerned headmasters and school managements under the Maharashtra Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Regulation Act, 1977, and Rules 1981.