| In cash strapped JK, SPCB spends Rs 5 lakh on lunch party | | Violates Guv's austerity orders | |  Sumit Sharma
Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 24: The State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) on Wednesday violated the austerity orders issued by the Governor NN Vohra by throwing a lavish party at hotel Asia here.
The party was thrown just a few days after the Governor NN Vohra, barred officials from holding meetings and conferences at private hotels and travelling first class. The Governor's administration had also ordered that no exhibitions, fairs, seminars and conferences should be held outside the state, except exhibitions for tourism or handicraft promotion.
Sources told Early Times that party hosted by the SPCB dented the cash strapped state exchequer by Rs 5 lakhs. "The SPCB held a seminar-cum awareness programme on Municipal Solid Waste Management which was attended by the various government functionaries including the officials from JMC and Urban local bodies besides others. After the seminar a lavish lunch party was thrown for the participants," they added.
Its in place to mention here that soon after the Governor N N Vohra took the reins of the state he was informed that the state's liabilities have grown from Rs 16,790 Cr to a whopping Rs 44,646 Cr during the past nine years, pushing Jammu and Kashmir into a debt trap. Following which Governor ordered that extravaganza should be done away with.When Early Times contacted the Chairman SPCB Abdul Razak he said, "The seminar was organized for the welfare of people." Asked about the expenditure and Governor's order, he said, "Programme had been fixed two months before." |
|
