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| Rs 5.53 lakh each withdrawn as election expenditures of 2 Panchayats | | Elections funds for open loot in Kishtwar's Warwan block | |  Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 16: In a well organized loot of public money, the Block Development Officers of Warwan and Marwah blocks with the help of accounts officers managed to withdraw elections expenditures for holding elections in two Panchayats each in Warwan and Marwah blocks held in the year 2018.
As per the details available with "Early Times", Warwan block of Kishtwar District consist of 7 Panchayats and 49 wards and as per the officials out of seven Panchayats, three Panchayats are vacant due to non holding of elections while on four others, two Sarpanches were elected unopposed and the election were held for two other Panchayats viz Chouedraman and Margi and similarly out of 49 Panchayat wards, 19 wards are vacant while out of 30 others, 20 ward members were elected unopposed.
Similarly, Marwah block, out of 12 Panchayats, four candidates were declared as unopposed while elections were held on two Panchayats viz Yurdoo and Nawapachi-B and out of 86 wards, 61 are vacant and all other remaining 25 ward members were declared as unopposed since the people of Marwah boycotted the elections over the issue of construction of 1200 MW Budsar power project dam.
Following the conclusion of the Panchayat elections, the BDOs of Warwan blocks submitted the bills claiming various election expenditures for making various kinds of arrangements for polling parties that stationed at Marwah and Warwan blocks from 12-11-2018 to 18-11-2018 for four Panchayats and 10 wards in the block.
As per the order No 13 of 2019 Dated 30-8-2019, Election department releases Rs 5.53 lakh to BDO Warwan for mitigating the election expenditure under various heads of the CEO J&K and similarly funds were also released to some other blocks as well.
As per the official sources, the bills withdrawn by the BDO Warwan are much more higher than the actual expenditure on the said Panchayat elections added that the same was spent by the lower staff of the department out of its own pockets which is yet to be paid to them despite the concern BDO withdraw the same against many factitious bills submitted by few officials.
The sources said that the transportation expenditures were paid by the transport department and the amount withdrawn by the BDO Warwan is the expenditure shown other than transportation of the polling staff.
The sources said that similarly lakhs of rupees had been withdrawn by the BDO Marwah for holding Panchayat elections in block Marwah on two Panchayats.
One of the employee on the condition of anonymity told the "Early Times" that they have not received a single penny out of the money spent by them on making various arrangements for polling parts and called for high level probe into the matter.
The sources said that similar practice was also adopted in some other blocks where money worth lakhs of rupees has been withdrawn on the name of expenditures for conducting Panchayat elections, but the lower staff who did all possible hardwork for successful conduct of the elections did not get a single penny and urged Anti Corruption Bureau and CBI to investigate into the matter since J&K is now a union territory falling directly under the ambit of CBI.
Another employee said that he still own money to some people even after paying out of its own pocket and urged upon the authorities to look into the matter.
Similar tactics according to the sources was adopted during Parliamentary elections wherein according to sources Rs 7.42 lakh has been shown as election expenditure by the BDO Marwah. Despite repeated attempts, BDO Warwan who only few weeks ago demitted the office of BDO Warwan and withdraw the said amount could not be reach out for the comment. |
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