Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Kumbh Mela scam: Info panel recommends CBI probe into fund misuse.

India today: Dehradun: Wednesday, April 1, 2015.
The Centre in 2010 had given Rs 565 crore for the Kumbh Mela to the Uttarakhand government.The ghost of 2010 Maha Kumbh mela scam is back to haunt the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttarakhand. Responding to an RTI query, the Uttarakhand Information Commission has recommended the state government to conduct a CBI probe into the alleged misuse of the Maha Kumbh mela funds hosted in Haridwar.
The BJP was in power in the state during the period and the central government had provided Rs 565 crore for the smooth conduct of the mela. However, many development works remained incomplete even after the mela had concluded. And those done in Haridwar were of poor quality.
Giving details of the CAG's March 2010 annual audit report, RTI applicant Ramesh Chander Sharma charged that even after completion of the mela, 54 development works-worth Rs 180.07 crore-were incomplete. The application (dated May 19, 2014) had sought information about the work done with balance Rs 180.07 crore after the mela, which various state government departments failed to provide.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand BJP's general secretary Naresh Bansal said, "The Congress government is doing this just to divert the attention of the public from their failures. They are welcome to conduct the inquiry. The probe will bring the true picture before the public."
The state information commission recommendation about a high-level probe comes more than four years later after the CAG hinted at gross misuse of the central government grant provided for the Maha Kumbh. A total sum of Rs 565 crore was approved for 311 works to be executed by 34 departments of the state government.
When the Maha Kumbh concluded in 2010, an over excited Uttarakhand CM and senior BJP leader Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank demanded a Nobel Prize for successfully hosting the biggest mela.
On the other hand, the Congress made the mela scam an election issue during the 2012 state Assembly elections and also during last year's Lok Sabha polls. But even after being voted to power in March 2014, the Congress government had so far shown no intention of taking any action against those found guilty.