*Fails to protect land identified for construction of Police Station
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 9: Fraudu-lent and irregular payments on hiring of vehicles was just the tip of an iceberg as the Police Department of J&K has also been found guilty of blocking nearly Rs 2 crore for eight years and making expenditure of over Rs 1.50 crore without the approval of Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
In the year 2008, the Custodian General leased out 11 kanals and three marlas of land for 20 years in favour of Police Department for construction of a police station at Chanapora Srinagar at a cost of Rs 15 lakh per kanal and ground rent of Rs 100 per kanal per month. The land was under occupation of Border Security Force (BSF) and J&K Police Department authorities were responsible for negotiating with the BSF for taking possession of the land.
Though Police Department paid an amount of Rs 1.65 crore under the terms of the agreement to the Custodian Evacuee Property but failed to take possession of land from the BSF. This compelled the Custodian Evacuee Property to identify another piece of land at Peerbagh Hyderpora Srinagar for housing the police station.
“As the title of this piece of land was sub-judice, it could also not be acquired by the Police Department as a result of which Rs 1.65 crore advanced to Custodian Evacuee Property remained blocked for over eight years”, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said in its latest report.
In another case, Custodian Evacuee Property allotted land measuring one kanal at Teergaripora, Nowhatta Srinagar to the Police Department on lease for 20 years for Rs 15 lakh per kanal and payment of ground rent of Rs 90 per kanal per month.
“Without verifying title of land, the Police Department advanced Rs 15 lakh to the Custodian Evacuee Property. Later, the Police Department found that out of one kanal of land, 12 marlas was fenced by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation and was reportedly used by the locals”, the CAG said, adding “one shop had also been constructed over this land as Police Department had not taken possession of the land resulting in blocking of Rs 15 lakh for over seven years”.
When the matter was brought to the notice of Director General of Police last year, he said, “the BSF had not vacated the land due to security reasons and the land leased at Teergaripora was encroached during the process of acquisition”, the CAG said while expressing concern over inability of Police Department to protect the land identified for construction of police station from the encroachers.
According to the CAG findings, the State Home Department in September 2011 forwarded a proposal to the Government of India under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) for providing Solar Photovoltaic Power Plants to 523 Police Establishments at an estimated cost of Rs 37.93 crore.
Under the scheme, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was to provide Central Financial Assistance of Rs 243 per watt or 90% of the sanctioned project cost whichever was less. Accordingly, the Ministry conveyed sanction for installation of SPPPs at 523 Police Establishments at a cost of Rs 33.54 crore.
However, audit of records of Director General of Police revealed that the department placed order for supply of SPPPs at 562 Police Establishments instead of the sanctioned 523 Police Establishments. These 562 Police Establishments included 25 District Police Offices which were neither included in the proposal nor approved by the Union Ministry.
Even MNRE refused to meet the extra expenditure on the up-approved works and reduced the financial sanction to Rs 29.43 crore for the sanctioned 523 Police Establishments. However, the Police Department incurred an irregular expenditure of Rs 1.53 crore on installation of SPPPs at 17 out of 25 un-approved DPOs, the CAG said.
Though the office of Director General of Police tried to justify wrongdoings, the CAG has found the same as not tenable on the ground that Government of India had refused to meet the extra expenditure on un-approved works. In this way, the CAG has put the J&K Police Department in the dock.
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