Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 27: A Civil Secretariat moving employee working in Rural Development Department (RDD) as Under Secretary has been drawing monthly House Rent Allowance (HRA) despite having government allotted free accommodation.
Mohammad Sadeeq, a social activist, told Early Times that the employee is hoodwinking government as he fraudulently draws HRA allowance @16% on basic pay from last many years. The official in question is also president of the Civil Secretariat employees Union.
The erring official's spouse is also working as Section Officer in Cultural department of the Civil Secretariat. "It is interesting that the couple are moving employees in the Secretariat and live in government accommodation, but still they get HRA," said Sadeeq.
"One of them gets government accommodation facilities in Jammu when the Secretariat is in the winter capital, while the spouse gets same facilities in summer capital," said the social activist, adding that the information was received from the Estates department vide letter no. Est/RTI/26/2018-S, dated 25.10.2018.
As per rule, a government servant shall not be entitled to HRA allowance if he/she resides in accommodation allotted rent-free by the government servant; he/she resides in accommodation allotted to his/her parents, son, and daughter by the government; his wife/her husband has been allotted accommodation at the same station by the government whether he/she resides in that accommodation or he/she resides separately in accommodation, rented by him/her.
In case where husband/wife, parents, children two or more of them being state government servants or employees of central government, autonomous public undertaking, or semi-government organizations share accommodation allotted to another government servants, HRS will be admissible to only one of them at their choice.
But these powerful employees have got the accommodation facilities as well as HRA allowance of the capital cities in violation of set norms.
Despite complaint against the erring employees, the previous government failed action against them due to their proximity with the power corridor. Now, the activist has urged the Governor SP Malik to initiate action against them for causing loss to state exchequer and also recover HRA allowance from them which they have been drawing illegally from many years.
Pleading anonymity, an official of the Estates department told Early Times that RDD as well as Cultural department are not alone as there are many more government departments where employees get government rent-free accommodation but also draw HRA allowance. |
