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Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 13
The functioning of the Social Welfare Department has come under the scanner as the audit report prepared by the Accountant General Department of the Government of India has raised questions over its functioning.
In its latest report of 2015-16, it has been noticed that Rs 6.95 crore was released on a regular basis to the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) in the past many years for a housing scheme which existed only on paper. No land had been allotted to the CHB for the scheme as yet.
The audit report raised objections saying the unreasonable decision to release the amount had resulted in the blockade of government money without any reason. The report says the Department of Social Welfare, Chandigarh, worked out a scheme for the construction of houses for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) from 1980-81 onwards, which was later renamed as the Dr Ambedakr Awas Yojana.
The CHB was made the implementing agency under the control of the Director, Social Welfare. The audit report said during the scrutiny of records, it was noticed that funds were being released to the CHB from 1981-82 to 2013-14 and 1997 to 2001-02 on a regular basis despite the fact that the funds were not required immediately by the CHB. The fund kept accumulating whereas houses (2,240) were constructed up to 1993-94.
Despite the balance amount, funds kept being released to the CHB. The audit report mentions that in the record maintained in the office of the Director, Social Welfare, it had come to notice that no land was acquired for the construction of houses under the Dr Ambedakr Awas Yojna. Even then, Rs 50 lakh was released during 2014-15 and 2015-16, resulting in the blockade of government money amounting to Rs 6,94,59451.
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