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| SMC spends Rs 6 crore to sterilize 441 Stray Dogs of Srinagar | | How peoples' money was plundered with impunity in JK | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Sep 3: The government is most likely to order probe into the 6 crore alleged scam in Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) related to the sterilization of over one lakh stray dogs in Srinagar.
As per the details coming to the fore, the graft bodies had already registered several complaints related to the alleged embezzlement of people's money allocated for the sterilization of stray dogs.
It was in the year 2012 that the government had given go ahead to the proposal of more than 6 crore rupees for dog sterilization.
However, as more than seven years have passed, only 440 surgeries, reportedly, have been conducted, making the expenditure incurred upon the project a questionable entity.
Details available with the Early Times reveal that on October 10, 2012, a high level meeting took place at the Civil Secretariat with government led by the former chief minister Omar Abdullah declaring that the Gujarat-based Humane Society of India (HSI), an NGO to start sterilization of stray packs under the ongoing Animal Birth Control (ABC) program.
The decision of handing over the project to the private agency was taken in the office of then Principal Secretary H&UDD. The Government also empowered the HSI to make all business deals with regard to procurement of equipments and other related facilities. The meeting, chaired by Principal Secretary H&UDD, was attended by the HSI Director Rahul Sehgal and Jasjit Purewal, a member of Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), among others.
As the project was kick started to control the dog population, the cost of the project was estimated as Rs 6 crore with the cost per surgery estimated as 600 per stray dog.
Now, when about seven years are about to pass, since the project was started, only 441 surgeries have been conducted, leaving the common masses in a fix over the claim of the time bound completion of such a task.
The Housing and Urban Development department while providing details of the project mentioned that a need for a fresh independent theatre was felt by the state government for the conduction of surgeries to control the dog population and more than one crore and 40 lakh rupees were spent out of the state exchequer for the purpose. A theatre, where the surgeries were ought to be conducted, was created at SKUAST, Srinagar.
Despite, such hefty sums were spent upon the project, the results continue to seem bleak and opaque. As the independent agency failed to complete the project, the question is being raised seriously that where all the money that was approved for the project has gone.
Sources said that so far, there has been no directives coming out from the government to probe such a whopping amount and the real expenditure incurred on ground.
Sources said that `government didn't only spent large amounts for what it termed 'reining in the dog menace' but also cared least about the results for which public money was spent. |
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