Rs. 15 cr. worth ‘winter clothing’ for elementary students

Dimapur, Nov. 19 (EMN): In May this year, the state government reportedly sanctioned Rs. 14.59 cr. to the department of School Education for provision of ‘winter clothing’ to students in elementary section of government-run schools. According to a press release from the Nagaland Public Rights Awareness and Action Forum (NPRAAF), the ‘drawal authority’ for said amount was issued on May 19 this year. The sanction was executed against ‘re-appropriation of fund from Planning Machinery’, it stated. “On earlier occasion also, NPRAAF has urged upon the Finance Department to explain as to what it meant by ‘re-appropriation of fund’ but (the latter) chose to remain silent which is being viewed seriously and NPRAAF is strategizing on the possible ways of how responsibilities could be fixed upon the Finance and other departments involved in misappropriation of funds,” the statement read. Asserting that the clothing items should have reached each and every elementary student by now, the NPRAAF has encouraged schools, students, parents/guardians and Village Education Committees to find out “whether such winter clothing has been received and accordingly take up the matter with the respective authorities”. Gunmen and looted cash Crucially, the NPRAAF statement claimed that the Finance Department had on August 4, 2016 released Rs. 15.88 lakh to the department of School Education purported to be a payment against “looted money by unidentified gunmen on 19 September 2009”. It asked the ‘responsible authorities’ to confirm whether it has taken appropriate action against employees for dereliction of duty; preventive measures for such incidents; and also the ‘final enquiry report’ on the incident. “NPRAAF asserts its position that every single penny meant for public should be accounted for and cautions the government not to treat amounts of few lakhs (sic) as meagre amounts since such attitude would encourage anti-social elements to continue committing crimes.” ‘Fraudulent drawal’ of Rs. 8 lakh The NPRAAF also alleged the state Finance Department of releasing Rs. 8,31,490 August 31, 2016 “under Demand No. 31 to be withdrawn from under Head of Account No. 8550 – Civil Advances for ‘payment of GPF fraudulently drawn in respect of 4nos of primary teachers’”. Such ‘fraudulent drawal’, it stated, reflects inefficiency of the employees handling the matters. “NPRAAF believes that such fraud would be difficult to be committed unless some government insiders assist the fraudsters. Hence, NPRAAF demands the responsible authority to respond whether any action has been taken upon the employees for their incompetence and whether inquiry was initiated and the report thereof.” No government employee would feel secure about their financial savings in the hands of the state government with such ‘fraudulent drawals’, it stated.