Misuse of funds under well-planned conspiracy being suspected
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 22: Establishing that there is no transparency and accountability in the functioning of Jammu and Kashmir e-Governance Agency (JaKeGA), over 55 files pertaining to financial transactions made by the agency have remained missing during the past over one year.
This has created impediments in the audit of accounts of two consecutive financial years and raised suspicion about mis-utilization and embezzlement of the funds kept at the disposal of agency for promoting and disseminating Information Technology in the State for the benefit of common masses.
As per the Chief Executive Officer of JaKeGA, on the eve of annual Darbar Move (from Srinagar to Jammu) in 2016, it was reported by the staff that critical records pertaining to finance (56 files) were missing and not received by the advance party of JaKeGA.
Accordingly, the matter was discussed with the Secretary Information Technology Department, which has the administrative control over JaKeGA, and thereafter the grave issue was brought to the notice of SSP Security Civil Secretariat.
Apart from this, an explanation was called on November 10, 2016 from the dispatch and receiving parties and they were asked to locate the missing records. However, not even a single file of financial transactions made by JaKeGA during 2013-14 and 2014-15 financial years could be recovered.
Following this, Chief Executive Officer of Jammu and Kashmir e-Governance Agency vide Communication dated 2-12-2016 asked the SSP Security Civil Secretariat to register FIR for the missing record so that the same can be located and any wrongdoing may be unearthed.
However, despite the lapse of more than one year no headway has been made by the SSP Security Civil Secretariat. “The matter is presently under investigation”, the Minister for Information Technology said in a written reply to the question of BJP MLA from Ramnagar Ranbir Singh Pathania in the Legislative Assembly today.
The Minister also admitted that in the absence of record the audit of the accounts of the JaKeGA for 2013-14 and 2014-15 financial years could not be conducted.
These startling revelations have put a big question mark on the functioning of JaKeGA and raised suspicion about mis-appropriation and embezzlement of the funds kept at its disposal. There is all justification behind the suspicion about misappropriation of funds as during the audit of the accounts for 2012-13 financial year several glaring shortcomings were pointed out by the audit agency.
During the audit in 2012-13, all the vouchers were not available for verification. It was also pointed out at that time that fixed assets register was not maintained by JaKeGA. Even the share of the State Government to match various grants of Government of India was not explained to the audit agency by the officers of JaKeGA.
“No FDR register has been maintained and wrong procedures were followed for depositing Income Tax. Though 1109 Khidmat Centers were opened but no details were available for verification. Further gap arrangements liability on account of these Khidmat Centers were not explained as such not accounted for while preparing the balance sheet”, the audit agency had pointed out.
This was not for the first time that JaKeGA lost its vital record under mysterious circumstances as a lot of record got destroyed in the devastating fire that broke out in the year 2011 in the old block of Civil Secretariat. An FIR in this regard was also lodged by the General Administration Department.
Thereafter, a lot of record got destroyed in the flash floods in 2014. Following these two incidents a high-level committee was constituted to verify the facts regarding loss of official record due to natural calamity and fire. But whether such verifications came to any conclusion remains a mystery.
It is pertinent to mention here that the primary objective of the Jammu and Kashmir e-Governance Agency is to design, deliver and administer e-Governance projects by providing the administrative, financial, legal and technical framework in the State.
JaKeGA works in promoting and disseminating Information Technology culture in the State so that common man could avail the benefits of Information Technology and e- Governance. The Agency has also been entrusted the task of facilitating establishment of e-service centers across the State through suitable public-private partnerships to ensure that public gets the desired information and e-services literally at their doorsteps.
Follow our WhatsApp channel