These sub-standard lamps never lighted the roads of their respective panchayats.
Dismissing seven criminal writ petitions of the 233 mukhiyas seeking quashing of the CJM order the Court issued warrant for their arrest.
The case in this regard was lodged by Sitamarhi police in 2010.
Opposing the criminal writ petitions of the mukhiyas, government pleader Amar Nath Deo submitted that the mukhiyas had to purchase solar lamps from M/s Tata BP Solar under the approved Solar Lamp Lighting Programme, but they purchased them from a fake dealer, Shiva Enterprises. By doing so, the 233 mukhiyas had caused loss of crores of rupees released to them.

He submitted that as per the government guidelines, the solar lamps had to be purchased from Bihar Radio House the authorized dealer of the district. But the mukhiyas had contacted a middleman, Vipendra Mishra, for the purchase of duplicate solar lamps from Ashok Kumar, owner of Shiva Enterprises.
Against Rs 45,000, which is the cost of each genuine Tata BP solar lamp, the mukhias had purchased the duplicate lamps at a cost of Rs 17,000 or Rs 18,000 each, which Shiva Enterprises had procured from Magadh Solar Light, which incidentally is situated in Chiraiyatand, Patna.
He submitted that the police had, during investigations, found that the solar plates and Exide battery, which were supposed to be used in the solar lamps, were sold in the market.
Deo also submitted that the government guideline for installation of solar lamps by trained technicians was also violated. Besides, Shiva Enterprises, did not have VAT certification from the commercial taxes department.

The government pleader further submitted that under the guidelines, the warranty of solar lamps should have been five years, and within this period the non-functioning solar lamps had to be replaced by the company supplying them. But the duplicate solar lamps were not replaced even though they never worked.

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comments...

Excellent news. This will send a good signal across entire state. Anna is fighting against corruption, but I feel corruption has more to do with character. The good Solar Lamps would have lit of the dark villages, helped the schools and increased the productivity of people there, but instead they become personal properties of these democratically elected representatives. When you visit villages of Punjab, Haryana or Himachal, you don't find such things happening there. Those villages are prospering but our villages at Bihar ... God can only help them. Awareness in people there is lacking along with lack in positive attitude. These Mukhias are almost common men, but were corrupt. It runs just that way. Corruption is done even by a single common man, and this is today we see corruption everywhere, top to bottom. It has become a character to become characterless. Good job Sitamarhi police ...let these suave chors cool their heels in jail for some time.

Ravi Shankar