JAMMU: Exposing out of state tours of Jammu and Kashmir ministers during the past one year, involving crores of rupees as travellng and dearness allowances, Chairman National Panthers Party and former minister Harsh Dev Singh on Wednesday welcomed the government communiqué, requiring the administrative secretaries to submit their tour reports after their visits to various states.
“This mechanism should be enforced on ministers as well”, Harsh Dev Singh said in a statement, adding that this would further save public exchequer from being abused for needless visits.
“The step is appreciative for ensuring accountability as all such secretaries would have to file the details of the places visited, meetings attended, venue of meetings, Central Minister or bureaucrats with whom meeting were held, decisions taken and outcome of such meetings, details of previous meetings held on the issue besides the follow up action required,” Harsh said adding that the Chief Minister’s step was laudable as it would not only imbibe discipline among the bureaucrats but also curb the unnecessary mobility of such officers ensuring that the tours outside are for official work only.
Lauding the Chief Minister’s proposition as novel and innovative, Harsh however commented that the desired objectives could not be accomplished by fixing the bureaucrats alone.
He also said that the beginning was required to be made by making the ministers accountable for their sojourns outside the State at government expense, adding that the ministers have provided the most glaring instances of abuse of
position and authority by describing their private visits outside the State as official visit and plundering the State resources for such unofficial visits.
He pointed out that in response to an RTI application filed by