The All India Anti Corruption Organisation (AIACO), Nagaland, has reiterated its demand for investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into several “anomalies and misappropriations” by various state departments as noted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The probe it said would “ensure accountability and transparency for the welfare of the Naga General Public to oversee and put on vigil that the Government of India programs are not violated.”
The organisation mentioned in its statement that School Education Department tops the chart of irregularities with two cases involving ₹82.80 crore. The other departments where the CAG “uncovered a series of misdeeds” includes Disaster Management (₹74.04 crore), Public Works Department (R&B and Mechanical) (₹58.23 crore), Taxes (₹33.23 crore), Water Resources (₹28.60 crore), Planning and Coordination (₹20.23 crore), Health and Family Welfare (₹13.70 crore), DC Dimapur (₹10.63 crore), Tourism (₹5 crore), Public Health Engineering (₹2.67 crore), Soil and Water Conservation (₹1.81 crore), Industries and Commerce (₹1.54 crore), Land Records and Survey (₹1.24 crore), Municipal Affairs (₹1.11 crore), Rural Development (₹0.88 crore), Forest (₹0.54 crore) and other various departments with seven cases (₹35.29 crore).
Further, the AIACO Nagaland has alleged that large number of ineligible families are availing benefits of National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 while genuine beneficiaries receive only 2-3 times a year. It said that it has come to its knowledge that “NFSA Cards are being possessed and obtained rice at government subsidized rate and sold out in an open market” and urged the State Government to take action.
The Organisation also claimed irregularities in distribution of tide over rice under NFSA and appealed for strict monitoring. It has accused the State approved stockists of re-packing and selling food grains in the open market at an exorbitant price.
Moreover, the AIACO Nagaland mentioned in its statement that it had repeatedly appealed the Chief Minister to institute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the alleged “financial scam” in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY-G) Scheme in the State. “The Finance Department had sanctioned and disbursed an amount of Rs 74,73,07,700 for the construction of PMAY-G units, benefiting 21,748 beneficiaries across 11 districts in Nagaland and that the amount was ‘mis-utilised”, it stated.
Furthermore, the organisation has pointed out the pending in submission of Utilisation Certificates (UCs) for 149 grants worth ₹316.34 crore which were due in 2023. “Pending UCs violates prescribed financial rules and directives, and reflects poor monitoring mechanism of the state government. Moreover, high pendency of UCs is fraught with risk of misappropriation of funds. The state would also lose out on Central funds for want of UCs not submitted till date”, it added.
The AIACO Nagaland also drew attention to the pending 335 Abstract Contingent (AC) bills involving INR 532.83 crore for adjustment by submission of Detailed Countersigned Contingent (DCC) bills, as of March 2022. It said that the non-adjustment of AC bills is fraught with the risk of misappropriation and therefore, requires close monitoring by the respective DDOs for ensuring submission of DCC bills.
The Organisation reminded of the CAG report that exposed the Nagaland government’s violation of the Centre’s directives in diverting Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO) worth Rs 19.56 crore to the open market. The report brings to light the allocation of 4,974 KL of SKO to 51 individuals/distributors, with no available records for the remaining quantity (1139.19 KL), it said.
It also recapped the CAG report on the alleged drainage works scam involving the Public Health Engineering Department’s (PHED) under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).
