DNA: Mumbai: Monday, May 27, 2013.
No accounts
maintained, no audits carried out of how public money was disbursed to
beneficiaries under the scheme.
Sensing the
serious concerns over the misappropriation in funds meant for minorities in the
state, the chief information commissioner has instructed additional chief
secretary (minorities) to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit the
action report within a month.
He has also
asked authorities to upload all the detailed accounts on the official website
of Maulana Azad Minorities Fund Development Corporation (MAMFDC).
Ratnakar
Gaikwad gave the above orders this month after a second hearing was conducted
into the issue. Gaikwad has also issued a show cause notice against the
information officer of MAMFDC for violating rules under the RTI Act, 2005. He
has ordered action against the officer under section 19 (8) (G) and section (2)
(1) of the Act for committing an unpardonable act by not parting with
information as per the rules.
MAMFDC is a
government body which allocates funds to the minorities in the state. The
sanctioned fund from the Centre is a loan given to an individual after s/he
complies with various formalities and proofs. However, it has been found that
no records or accounts are maintained of such disbursements. No audits are
carried out of these sanctioned loans by the MAMFDC.
The issue
came to light after a civic activist sought the records and details of the
MAMFDC last July. However, the authorities allegedly refused to give the
activist any information under the RTI Act. Even the appellate authority denied
information and records to the activist.
Aftab
Siddique, a civic activist from Bandra, said, “As a citizen, it was my right to
have the accounts and data of public money. I demanded the list of applicants
(beneficiaries). I had also asked for attested copies of audit of the fund,
which would have yearly figures of the disbursed amounts and recovery amount
district-wise. The directors present and former deprived me of the
information.”
Siddique also
claimed that under the RTI Act she was seeking precise information from the
MAMFDC office. She alleged that she was not only deprived of the information on
time but the appellate authority was rude and also threatened her of dire
consequences if she pursued the issue.
“I informed
the chief information commissioner and showed him the video clip where the
officials claimed that they don’t have any records. When the officials denied
having any records, I demanded the details of loan account numbers and details
of recovery audits,” said Siddique, expressing her satisfaction on the latest
orders.
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