JCCPA alleges mismanagement of funds by KAAC

The Joint Coordination Committee for Protection of Autonomy (JCCPA) on Monday alleged that Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) has been mismanaging funds leading to pending monthly salaries of KAAC employees, contractual teachers engaged in schools and colleges, teachers of venture schools colleges in both Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong.

In a press conference held here at the office of District Press Club of Karbi Anglong (DPCKA), the convenor of JCCPA and chairman of Joint Action Committee for Autonomous State (JACAS), Khorsing Teron said, ‘The employees of KAAC have their three months’ salaries pending, while the salaries of contractual teachers engaged in various schools and colleges and teachers of venture schools and colleges are pending for three months to one year already. From this, we have come to know that the financial position of the KAAC is very bad. There is a clear indication of financial mismanagement and financial indiscipline.’

He said as per Sixth Schedule paragraph 7 (1), rules are framed for the management of funds.

‘KAAC authority should not go for unnecessary expenditures. Financial mismanagement should also be stopped,’ he said.

Teron criticised the expenditure incurred for the Karbi Anglong Day celebration in November last year at Taralangso and said that it was unnecessary to spend crores of rupees.

‘The appointment of 28 development board chairmen was not necessary. It only increases the expenditure of the KAAC,’ he added.

Teron also said to avoid acute financial criticism, the KAAC should stop squandering public money, take austerity measures and exercise stringent financial discipline.

He also questioned the KAAC authority if it could not give salaries to contractual teachers and teachers of venture schools and colleges, then from where will the salaries of the newly appointed TET-qualified LP teachers be given.  

General secretary Rabindra Rongpi said funds for the first half of 2022-23  have already been sanctioned by the Assam government.

“But interestingly the money has entered into the Public Ledger Account (PLA) account and no one knows where the money was spent,” he claimed. The PLA account is under the Principal Secretary of KAAC.

‘Now the problem is that the department has failed to furnish the utilisation certificate. For the last two to three years, departments could not utilize plan money. Due to such financial irregularities, the KAAC has liabilities of INR 7000 crore to the State government,’ Rongpi went on to claim.