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| In 2-yrs, XEn paid Rs 7.57 lakh as rent for a private vehicle, reveals RTI | | Bleeding exchequer? | | Early Times Report
Kathua, July 23: An official of Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) Kathua had paid a whooping as rent to a vehicle hired from a private operator. Interestingly, in that amount a new vehicle could have been purchased.
An official, who was earlier posted as Executive Engineer of Public Health Engineering Department Kathua division had reportedly paid over Rs. 7.57 Lakh as rent of a private vehicle hired by him for himself.
In response to an RTI application, though the department had claimed that the Scorpio vehicle had been used by some junior officers of the department but if sources are to be believed, the vehicle was exclusively used by the Exen and lower rung officials didn’t dare to use the vehicle of their senior.
The then Executive Engineer of PHE division Kathua SK Puri vide reply number PHEK/C/576-79 dated 1/5/2017, had maintained the PHE division had hired two vehicles including one Scorpio vehicle JKO2P-3658 and a Mahindra load carrier bearing registration number JKO8A-9817. The official is now posted as Superintending Engineer in one circle of PHE Jammu.
In response to a question regarding money spent by the department as rent to hire the vehicles, it has been maintained that against Scorpio vehicle, the department had paid a total of Rs. 757919, with effect from 4/2015 to 3/2017 that was in two years.
Sources said that the amount of Rs. 7.57 Lakhs was only rent paid for the vehicle and it was unknown as how much amount was paid for the fuel used in the vehicle for two years.
“The initial cost of Scorpio vehicle starts at Rs. 8 Lakhs and department already has abundance of drivers, who have already been getting salaries without any work, so in such a condition, the hiring of vehicle ultimately bleeds the state exchequer and costs more to the department”, an official said.
Moreover the RTI reply further maintained that for hiring Mahindra vehicle, Rs. 85200 was paid in 2016-17 and it was not mentioned in how many months.
In response to the question of the officials/employees using hired private vehicles, the reply maintained that Executive Engineer Sumeet Kumar Puri, AEE Upinder Singh, Gopal Sharma, Rakesh Mahajan, Rajeev Soi and Bhushan Singh. “Though the names of five AEEs was also mentioned in the reply but if officials are believed, the Scorpio vehicle was only used by the Exen and was never used by any other AEE”, sources said.
Sources further claimed that it was also unknown who was the owner of the vehicle and how many times the Scorpio vehicle was used for personal work by the then Executive Engineer, which needed to be thoroughly investigated.
The RTI applicant has appealed to the Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu to order an enquiry into the entire episode as how such a huge amount could be paid as rent of the vehicle used by the then EXEn. |
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