Serious financial irregularities

21/02/2018

In the much-publicized case of irregular payments on hiring of vehicles during Parliament and Assembly elections in 2014, no action has been taken against the erring officers of the Police Department despite establishment of serious financial irregularities. Moreover, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Legislative Assembly has dubbed the reply of the Police Department as ambiguous. However, the PAC has also not made any recommendation to the Government for want of report by its Sub-Committee as such the audit paragraph of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has remained inconclusive despite lapse of over two years. The irregularities and misappropriation of funds meant for carriage of constabulary and hiring of vehicles during Parliament and Assembly elections in 2014 were brought to the notice of Director General of Police by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India in the year 2016 for necessary action.
An amount of Rs 4.04 crore was paid for hiring of buses, trucks and light motor vehicles that turned out to be registered as scooters, motor-cycles, non-commercial vehicles, tractors and bulldozers or were non-existent. Further there was double payment of Rs 1.40 lakh while payment of Rs 1.42 crore was doubtful as there were no details of the vehicles hired and irregular payment of Rs 0.30 crore on hiring of non-commercial vehicles. Police Headquarters directed IGP Crime to conduct enquiry and submit the report by or before August 18, 2016 for onward submission to the Home Department. Accordingly, Crime Head quarters constituted two committees one each for Jammu Zone and Kashmir Zone to verify the contents of the CAG report. The Finance Department informed the PAC that as regard to double drawal of Rs 1.40 lakh by the then SSP PCR Jammu, the DDO had deposited the same in Government treasury as the DDO had realized the mistake before framing of the audit report. About ‘ghost’ vehicles’, only 7 had been found suspicious out of 237 vehicles hired for smooth conduct of elections.
With regard to hiring of private vehicles, the concerned DDOs had submitted in writing that due to non-availability of commercial vehicles they were forced to hire private vehicles from open market. Similarly, as regard to deduction of income tax the Finance Department submitted before the PAC that almost all the DDOs had deducted the TDS but the then SSP Jammu had stated that TDS could not be deducted due to the reason that single firm was not owing all the vehicles and the owners had given undertaking that they will deposit the TDS at their own level.

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