Norms violated in disbursement of incentives, relief: Harsh

By
Daily Excelsior
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Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 19: Expressing grave concern over the open loot and swindling of Government funds under various beneficiary oriented schemes by various Departments of the State, the JKNPP chairman and former minister Harshdev Singh has sought a high level probe into all disbursements made after April 1, 2015 in the Department of Horticulture, Social Welfare and Revenue Department in district Udhampur.
He alleged that GAD orders regarding mode of payment of relief, subsidies and other incentives under various State and Central sponsored schemes have been flouted by the said department with impunity for vested interests and for extraneous considerations which require personal indulgence of the Governor.
Elucidating his point, Harshdev Singh said that the State Government in a bid to ensure transparency and to curb corruption in the disbursement of payments under various beneficiary oriented schemes, had directed all Government departments to follow the process of Direct Bank Transfers (DBT) instead of payment through Cash, Cheque or Demand Drafts. “Accordingly an order was issued by GAD but a few Government departments are still issuing cheques and demand drafts as per their own whims and fancies and thus subserving their personal motives,” he said and added that funds have been deposited by certain DDOs in their own accounts and subsequently cheques issued to fake beneficiaries.
Making a particular mention of Horticulture Department of district Udhampur, Harshdev Singh said that payments were made through cheques for various schemes during the current year in view of a well knit politician-deptt – fake beneficiary nexus and the said disbursements have been made in multifarious schemes including Green Houses, Horticulture Mission, Plantations, Vermi Compost Units, Farm Handling Units, Horticulture Mechanization, HMNEHS besides other schemes of Horticulture Deptt. Likewise, he added, in Social Welfare Department, the payments under National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) have been made in Ramnagar constituency through cheques in circumvention of the prescribed procedures while the Revenue Deptt has also disbursed the relief amount meant for damaged houses and crops of thousands of beneficiaries through cheques for reasons best known.

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