Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 31: With reports of financial irregularities in the working of Rural Development Department (RDD), particularly under MGNREGA, IWMP and SBM hitting the headlines every other day, NPP chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh today appealed the Governor and his Advisors to order a probe into all spending under the said schemes during the last three years vis-a-vis expenditure incurred and output recorded.
Addressing a press conference here today Mr Singh said that despite thousands of crores pumped into the State every year under the said schemes for employment generation and creation of durable assets, the ground situation was extremely pathetic. He said that field visits conducted by him together with the feedback received from various blocks had revealed not only large scale diversion of huge funds from one activity to the other in violation of SOPs and guidelines but open loot of funds by unscrupulous officials in connivance with vested interests. He said that massive financial irregularities had deprived not only the poor Job card holders and labourers of their wages but cumulative liabilities amounting to approximately one thousand crores during the last three years from 2015 to 2018 had threatened financial stability.
Click here to watch video
Referring to the liability figures projected in the official website of Rural Development Department, Singh revealed that these stood at Rs 35.48 crore for 2015-16, Rs 140.50 crore for 2016-17, Rs. 651.42 crore for 2017-18 and Rs. 111.25 crore for 2018-19. He said that such liabilities had been created by the reckless officers of the RDD by circumventing the SOPS and stipulated norms for reasons best known. .
While pointing out most traumatic phase of scams in Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), Singh revealed that purchases worth hundreds of crores had been made on ‘tree guards’ and ‘plants’ during the last three years which were never put to use. He said that unquantifiable tree guards so purchased had been dumped in various Panchayats during the last two years without any purpose or justification and allowed to rotten. And despite a ban on plantation and purchase of plants imposed by RDD, plants worth crores were purchased every year from selected suppliers and allowed to get dried without benefitting anyone. Likewise, several crores had been spent on hoardings, banners, posters and wall writings in each district in violation of prescribed guidelines and procedures. He demanded high level probe into the matter.
Follow our WhatsApp channel