Rs. 5 Cr spent on Ministers’/ Officers’ residences
State Times News
JAMMU: The J&K State Accountability Commission (SAC) has taken first step to tighten noose on high spending of public funds by the government departments and has asked the Estates Department not to undertake any renovation/repair/rebuilding/restructuring of any official residential accommodation allotted to public men and public servants without obtaining a formal requisition in writing from allottee(s).
The Commission was considering a case involving a whopping Rs. 5 crores spent on official residences of Ministers/Government Officers last year as was disclosed by the CAG’s Report.
After hearing the Director Estates, it was noticed by the Commission that there was no norm or procedure adopted in undertaking renovations/repairs/restructuring of the official residences of the Ministers and government officers. In the absence of any such norm or procedure, public funds were found to be spent in a free-for-all manner without any Codal formalities being observed.
The Commission, comprising Justice B. A. Khan (Chairperson), Justice (Retd.) J.P. Singh (Member) and Justice Bashir A. Kirmani (Member), on consideration of the matter recommended to the Government that no renovation/repairs/rebuilding of government residential accommodations shall be carried out without obtaining formal requisition in writing from the concerned allottee and that its execution should follow expert verification/estimation and fulfilling of Codal formalities depending on the need and feasibility of any such work requisitioned. The Commission has also asked the government to issue consequential orders in this regard to streamline the expenditure incurred on maintenance/renovation/repair of Official residences of the Ministers and Government Officers.
