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| SSA Scam worth Rs 1.38 crore brewing in erstwhile Doda distt | | | Early Times Report
Kishtwar, April 01: More than one thousand volunteers under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in Doda district have been robbed off their dues between August 2006 and March 2007. The volunteers are running from pillar to post in order to get their honorarium but to no effect.
After working under the SSA to spread elementary education through community-ownership in the remote parts of Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar, these volunteers have now been left reeling under the severe blow of a scam that amounts to Rs 1.38 crores.
Though the Volunteers have been denied of their dues for all these months the higher authorities, in the state education department, claim that the funds for the honorarium have already been disbursed to the concerned authorities.
As per the official records, Rs 1, 38, 42, 300 is the total liability of the three districts of Chenab Valley, Doda, Ramban, Kishtwar, which have allegedly been misappropriated. The amount was meant to be paid towards the honorarium dues of about 1,412 volunteers who were working in Doda (641), Ramban (300) and Kishtwar (471). These volunteers claim that they did not receive their dues for six months and were forced to run from pillar to post for the same. This despite the fact that the concerned funds stand released by the Centre.
Doda district is divided into 10 education zones - Assar, Bhaderwah, Bhagwah, Bhaila, Bhalessa, Bhatyas, Doda, Ghat, Gundna and Thathri – in which the SSA volunterrs’ honorarium worth about Rs 51.47 lakh has not been paid. For the 7 education zones of Kishtwar – Drabshalla, Inderwal, Kishtwar, Marwah, Nagseni, Padder, Warwan – honorarium worth about Rs 62.22 lakh is left unpaid. Approximately, Rs 24.72 lakh is the total liability to be paid in honorarium to the SSA volunteers in Ramban’s 5 education zones – Banihal, Batote, Khari, Ramban and Ukhral.
What is the worst part of the story is that the monthly honorarium of these poor volunteers is a meager Rs 1000, which is due to them after their duties in tough conditions. Most of the volunteers claim that despite being released on time, the funds have been diverted towards construction or purchase within the education department.
There is no one, even in the higher echelons of state administration, who can mitigate their sufferings as is proven by the fact that they had approached the State SSA Project Director, AK Raina, who wrote to his zonal education officers, vide letter number Edu/SPD/SSA/98831/09 dated 3-3-2009, asking them to come to his office with relevant records for cross-checking the volunteers’ claims.
As per the project director himself, there is nothing outstanding in the records available with his office. However, he admitted that there had been complaints from various zones in the three districts regarding non-payment of honorarium and he had asked the concerned officials to make the relevant records available.
At the same time, Mr Raina denied that the concerned funds had been diverted towards construction or purchase, for which, he assured, separate funds were released. |
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