Nagaland Post: Dimapur: Friday, July 28, 2017.
Replies to
RTI indicated that there has been huge anomalies in three departments-School
Education, Social Welfare and Food & Civil Supplies- estimated at several
hundreds crore rupees.
This was
disclosed in a synopsis of a PIL filed by RTI activists S.T. Yapang Longkumer
and Odi Jamir at the Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench on July 25, 2017. The
petitioners termed the anomalies as massive misappropriation of funds during
the past several months.
The petitioners stated that in response to RTI
from the Finance department on June 15,2017 , it was brought to light that the
department’s Budget and Monitoring Cell (B&MC) had issued 73 Drawal
Authority/s (DA) to the School Education department from 21.04.2016 to
31.03.2017 under demand no. 31. The petitioners claimed that among the 73 DAs,
some 23 appeared to be serious anomalies, from which a whopping amount of Rs.
248.67 crore was drawn from 21.04.2016 to 31.03.2017 purportedly for the
purpose of construction of school buildings, SSA & RMSA salaries, payment
of scholarships.
Further, the
petitioners pointed out that the Social Welfare department had drawn an amount
of Rs. 222.49 crore within 10 months for the purpose of clearance of
liabilities under wheat and nutrition programme, construction of park for
persons with disabilities in Kohima, orphanages, children homes, observation
& shelter homes etc., purchase of food items under SNP, payment of pensions
to beneficiaries and blind persons.
With regard to
Food and Civil Supplies department, the petitioners said that upon detail
examination and perusal of the documents furnished by the Finance department,
it was revealed that the B&MC had issued 17 DAs to the Civil Supplies
department from 02.06.2016 to 17.07.2016 under Demand No. 22. Amongst the 17
DAs, the petitioners said four appeared to have had serious anomalies where Rs.
12.55 crores were drawn from 21.04.2016 to 31.03.2017 for the purpose of
printing of ration cards, transportation handling charges of food grains of
additional BPL, AAY rice for beneficiaries.
The
petitioners alleged that the amounts drawn by the departments were never used
judiciously for the purpose of progressive and genuine welfare activities of
the citizens. Maintaining that amounts may have been allegedly siphoned off,
the petitioners appealed to the Court direct the CBI to conduct a thorough
investigation into the anomalies.