Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 19: The State Government has allegedly diverted State Disaster Relief Fund worth lakhs of rupees for procurement of items in violation of norms.
Sources informed that as per approved norms for assistance under State Disaster Relief Fund can be utilized for temporary accommodation, food, clothing, medical care, etc. for the people affected, evacuated and sheltered in relief camps.
They further said that State Government procured Bio-manure which is used for improvement of soil fertility despite the fact that there is no provision under SDRF norms for procurement of manure for soil fertility but Government procured 44,000 kgs of bio-manure at cost of Rs 33 lakh which was used for agricultural purpose and not for sanitation/disinfection purposes.
Sources further said that Rs 2 crore meant for relief and rehabilitation of the flood affected people were utilized on procurement of materials such as 12000 litres transformer oil, 1,200 litres Mobil oil , Engine oil 3,150 litres, five DG Sets, 180 units of 12 volt batteries, stationery items, 30 KVA Automatic Voltage Stabilizer for Sainik Bhawan Srinagar, transformer for office of the Chief Canning and Processing Instructor, office automation for office of the Deputy Director Employment, cameras and hiring of vehicles, POL, wages of hired computer data operators, lunch/tea, snacks, etc. but fact of matter is that the procured items were not essentially required for rescue and relief operations related to floods.
"Rs 2.50 crore were sanctioned out of SDRF funds for purchase of 75,000 kgs of whole milk and 5,000 kgs of skimmed milk from M/s Mother Dairy and Vegetables Private Limited, for distribution amongst the flood affected people but only 7,000 kgs of whole milk was distributed amongst the affected people while 2,600 kgs of whole milk was damaged," they said. |
