news details |
|
|
| CAG unearths Rs 3011.23 lakh embezzlement in IAY scheme in J&K | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 7: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has unearthed massive Rs. 3011.23 lakh embezzlement in the implementation of the centrally sponsored housing scheme for rural poor, Indira Aawas Yojana (IAY).
CAG in its recently released audit report on Indira Aawas Yojana (IAY) has accused the state government of violating the norms and giving undue benefits to people who were ineligible for being accommodated under this centrally sponsored scheme. It has said that crores of rupees have been disbursed among beneficiaries across Jammu and Kashmir. A huge number of beneficiaries of IAY are from the urban areas of the two regions of the state.
Norms require that IAY beneficiaries should be shelterless BPL households except families and widows of the personnel from defence services, paramilitary forces killed in action living in the rural areas of the country. But CAG report says that 6423 beneficiaries have been illegally accommodated under IAY by the state government and a huge amount of Rs. 1779.55 lakh has been disbursed to these beneficiaries illegally. Of these a small amount of Rs. 3.58 lakh had been passed on to the 12 beneficiaries living in the urban areas but shown as residents of rural areas.
Rs. 338.10 lakh had been distributed among 1154 beneficiaries who already have Pucca or semi-Pucca houses in rural areas. Besides, Rs. 1799.55 lakh has been distributed among non-BPL beneficiaries which is blatant violation of IAY norms. Another component of IAY is that of providing assistance to beneficiaries for upgradation of Kutcha Houses with a ceiling of Rs.15, 000 but state government, according to CAG, provided assistance for upgradation much above this ceiling.
3764 beneficiaries having kutcha house were provided financial assistance of Rs. 6.96 crore in complete violation of the norms and by bypassing conditions set for identification and nomination of the beneficiary. Test check of a few cases revealed that 20 beneficiaries had been provided financial assistance twice resulting in excess payment of Rs. 5.60 lakh. CAG could not calculate exact number of such beneficiaries and the actual amount involved since the quantity taken as sample was too small.
Indira Aawas Yojana (IAY) was implemented without proper assessment of housing shortage and there was complete lack of transparency in the allotment of houses to rural poor. Under IAY guidelines, construction of houses should not take more than two years but 1035 houses were incomplete beyond two years and this again involved an amount of Rs. 1.94 crore. CAG has also noted with concern the wasteful expenditure of Rs. 3.87 crore released as first instalment to the beneficiaries.
CAG termed this as wasteful expenditure since the second instalment was never released to the beneficiary and there was also no record available to suggest that the money released so had been utilised properly. CAG could not verify whether the constructions had been completed or not and hence, termed the expenditure as wasteful. More shocking were the variations reported in the expenditure figures available respectively with Union Ministry for Rural Development and the state government.
Utilisation certificates to the tune of Rs. 700.24 lakh were also pending from March 2010 to March 2012. Besides these major discrepancies, CAG has stressed that Jammu and Kashmir is the only state where payments have been made to the beneficiaries through cheques in public meetings held by MLAs, MPs, MLCs and Ministers. CAG has taken serious offence of this also and said that this is intolerable and should have been avoided. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
