Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday ordered a probe into the alleged swindling of funds by state government officials during relief operations after 2013 floods through submission of inflated and forged bills. However the opposition is far from impressed. BJP is asking for resignation of the government and a CBI probe into the whole matter.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Saturday ordered a probe into the alleged swindling of funds by state government officials during relief operations after 2013 floods through submission of inflated and forged bills. However the opposition is far from impressed. BJP is asking for resignation of the government and a CBI probe into the whole matter.
"I have ordered an inquiry into the allegations under the Chief Secretary. I can assure you that not a single guilty officer will be spared. These are serious allegations and if found true most strict action will be taken against the erring officials by the Government," Chief Minister Harish Rawat told PTI over phone.
The scam surfaced during a hearing carried out by State Information Commissioner Anil Sharma where a RTI petitioner submitted documents showing massive irregularities. The documents indicated that officials relished choicest of cuisine even as people were suffering.
Taking cognisance of the allegations, the Chief Minister on Saturday asked Chief Secretary to look into the matter and take action against the erring officials, sources in the Chief Minister's office said.
PTI had first reported the story highlighting alleged financial swindling by officials engaged in the relief work.
Through the RTI replies, several glaring examples of forged and inflated bills had come to the light which showed officials billed the exchequer Rs 194 for half a litre milk, enjoyed stay in hotels which were over Rs 7,000 per day, relished mutton, chicken, cottage cheese and gulab jamuns.
The officials allegedly distributed relief funds twice to same persons, purchased 1,800 rain coats from same shop for three consecutive days, submitted fuel bills indicating that diesel was purchased for scooter and motorcycles which were camouflaged as four wheelers.
In a 12-page order, passed after hearing complainant Bhupendra Kumar of National Action Forum for Social Justice, Sharma has taken note of bills provided by various districts in response to RTI queries seeking details of funds spent on relief work in the aftermath of the tragedy that claimed 3,000 lives, with many still missing.
Opposition BJP today demanded resignation of the state government and sought a CBI probe into the alleged "loot" of aid money. "Our stand has been vindicated by the findings of the Information Commission in response to an RTI query. "We have all along been demanding a white paper and a CBI probe into distribution of relief material in the state in the wake of the tragedy," Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Bhatt said.
"We always smelt the rat the way the entire exercise was being carried out," Bhatt said. Alleging that the "scam" was committed by "insensitive" officials in connivance with government functionaries, he said huge amounts were received as assistance by the state from all over the world but no one knows where it went.
"We always said that money pouring in from different directions was being pocketed by people involved in distribution of relief but no one paid attention to us," he said. "If the state government has even an iota of morality left in it, it should recommend a CBI probe into the scam and resign owning moral responsibility for the ugly loot of money meant for people struck by an unprecedented tragedy," he said.
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