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| Union Home Ministry under dock | | Security related funds advanced to J&K falling on wrong hands | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | May 25
News Analysis
The reports appearing in a section of media about J&K security funds going to wrong hands has rung alarm bells in political circles as well as among those concerned with the security in the militancy infested state. Crores of rupees meant to be spent as secret service funds in Jammu and Kashmir every year, are being misused, according to the report. These funds controlled by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the army are exempt from any audit. But unfortunately these are going to wrong hands, being diverted from television stations to militant informers.
According to a report an Intelligence Bureau operation traced the leakage of fund from corpus meant for government all the way to Afghanistan, where it was used to purchase rocket launchers, which in turn were used to target the army in Poonch sector. A report emanating from NSA discloses that this money was even funded for militants' love affairs and for supporting their children. The J&K state gets a whooping sums from the Centre on its annual plan outlay and a large part of this is security related, which includes from security service funds to expenses for the CRPF and the Rashtriya Riffles.
At a meeting of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Security held recently, a Congress minister is reported to have raised the issue of the funds being misused in J&K and sought answer from the Home Minister Shiv Raj Patil. The latter is reported to have given and evasive answer that he was looking into the complaint. The reply however did not satisfy any of the CCS members. One of the minister present is reported to have remarked that Mr. Patil is in habit of taking the serious issues lightly by evading any concrete response. Shiv Raj Patil's answer to the query about misappropriation of security funds for J&K was turned as vague and non serious approach towards the enormity of the problem.
The sources claim that even the cabinet and some senior ministers have been raising the issue, but without achieving any concrete results. Since there is no parliamentary control or audit over the funds being pumped into the state on security accounts, siphoning off the same has become a routine affair. The Comptroller and Auditor General too is stated to have raised serious objections about the misuse of these funds. In a related issue the CAG has recently pointed accusing fingers over the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in J&K, by describing the same as complete failure. But the stated misuse of Central funds granted to the state on security heads is considered to be a more serious issue, particularly when it is alleged that these funds are falling on wrong hands and instead of being used for combating terrorism and strengthening the security apparatus, are being utilized for giving impetus to the militancy and strengthening the terrorists in their anti country operations.
The UPA government which is already under severe attack from the BJP and some other opposition groups in the country for its alleged failure to tackle militancy in J&K and frequent reports of a part of official agencies and even some elements in the state police being hand in glove with the militants, the revelations in this regard have the potential to put the UPA government further on mat, providing the BJP one more handle to beat the UPA government. |
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