Early Times Report
Jammu, Mar 18: Sangarsh RTI Movement have demanded vigilance probe against the officers of various department who have withdrawn crores of rupees from government treasuries by issuing Self Cheques on the fag-end of last financial year 2013-14. He demanded a vigilance probe to find the huge financial irregularities.
While addressing a joint press Conference here today S Balvinder Singh Convener Sangarsh RTI Movement alongwith Ravi Razdan, RTI Activist Raman Sharma and other members of organization tabled the information regarding Cash withdrawn by officers of various department mostly engineering department where the officers have issued Self Cheques for even withdrawal of hefty amounts ranging from 10 lakhs to 50 lakhs.
"Information in the possession of the activist provided by the Directorate of Accounts and Treasuries Jammu reveals that several Executive Engineers / DDo's of different departments have withdrawn Crores of rupees from different treasuries of Jammu province only in the Month of March 2014, he said.
Singh said that the data exposes that these officers defying the rule laid down in the Govt Order No. 161-f of 2007, and indulge in possible fraud approximately an amount of Rs Two hundred Crores have been drawn by them from different treasuries of Jammu in the month of March, whereas as compared to rest of the year the amount withdrawn in the month of March is amount approximately 40% percent of the total budget allocation to these departments.
Citing examples of this huge financial misappropriation in Public Works Department (PWD), he said various divisions of PWD has withdrawn cash on self cheques modes and this amounts to whooping 26 percent of the total PWD annual budget and that too only in fag end of 2014.
The total withdrawn by different Executive Engineers cum DDOs of the Public Health Department, Jammu (Water Work) is also in crores. Citing examples of withdrawal s by various heads of these departments, he said Executive Engineer, PHE Rural issues self cheques worth Rs 3,89,74,296,PHE City Rs. 4,59,47,909, PHE Irrigation flood control Div Kishtwar Rs 2,65,90,446, Xen Irrigation & FC Nowshera Rs 1,30,83,751, PHE Irrigation Ramban Rs 3,17,35,223, Xen PHE Samba Rs. 70,50,000,
The addiction of issuing Self cheque is not confined only to officers of PHE and PWD but the Irrigation ,Flood Control, Forest, PDD, Estate and Town Drainage department officers have also adopted this modus operandi thus allegedly siphoning government exchequer.
The RTI activist further alleged that said the amount reflected in the Month of March is just a tip of the iceberg and if the detail enquiry is made for the full financial year of year 2014 the figure of the withdrawal cash on "Self" basis cheques may even cross more 40% of the annual budget allotted to different departments by the State Government.
Singh said, "if the state government is really serious to plug the loot of the state exchequer then the finance Minister should direct the Directorate of treasuries not to allow withdrawal of such a huge amount on the self cheques issued by the DDO's.
He said that work done liabilities of the government contractors are pending for the last so many years against the works executed by them after participating in legal tendering process but the payments of the works executed departmentally (works executed without inviting tenders) are being made immediately reasons better known to departments
Singh urged the Chief Minister and Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu to order a Vigilance organization or Vigilance probe to find the financial irregularities. |
