PWD refutes fake social media posts over Dy CM Arun Sao’s family event, set to initiate legal action
👉 Viral posts falsely linked official event bills to Dy CM’s family
👉Department cites RTI records disproving all claims
👉Clarification from Bemetara division warns of legal proceedings
By : Akshay Lahre
Raipur : The Public Works Department (PWD) has issued a strong rebuttal to social media posts claiming that the department paid expenses for a private family event of Deputy Chief Minister and PWD Minister Arun Sao. Calling the reports “completely baseless and fabricated,” the department clarified that all payments made during 2024–25 were for official State and district programmes only.
PWD Executive Engineer of Bemetara Division, D K Chandel, explained that under the Right to Information Act, 2005, one Abdul Wahid Rawani was provided complete financial data through letter number 4630/Soo.A.Li./25 dated August 28, 2025. The RTI reply included details of payments amounting to Rs 3.97 crore to registered vendors for government events such as the Chief Minister’s official visit to Navagarh, Republic Day celebrations, Viksit Bharat programmes, and ministerial public functions. None of these, the department emphasised, were private events.
The department also clarified that payments were made only after physical verification and due measurement by field engineers, and all vouchers were duly certified under prescribed financial norms. Contrary to what was circulated online, there exists no record, voucher, or sanction in connection with any family function of the Deputy Chief Minister.
According to official records, the listed events include multiple State-sponsored programmes-among them the three-day CM’s event at Navagarh (December 19–21, 2024), the Viksit Bharat programme at Bemetara Mandi on February 24, 2024, the Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations at the Basic School Ground, and several ministerial review meetings and public welfare inaugurations. These collectively account for sanctioned payments under government expenditure heads only.
The PWD maintained that neither the department nor any of its divisions has any relation to the alleged bills circulated on social media. “The information being spread is misleading, false, and damaging to public confidence. The department will take stern legal action against those responsible for propagating such fake narratives,” the official release asserted.
With RTI evidence and payment records fully available for verification, the department underscored that it functions under transparent procedures and will not tolerate attempts to malign the image of public institutions or constitutional office bearers through misinformation.
