Acting on media reports on the State officers having given inflated accommodation and fuel consumption bills when they were sent to monitor the situation in the aftermath of the June 2013 disaster as based on RTI replies, Chief Minister Harish Rawat has instructed Chief Secretary N Ravishankar to probe and book the officers if the reports were proved correct.
It would be pertinent to mention here that the State Government said while replying to RTI queries that during June disaster-2013, the officials who had been sent to monitor rescue and relief work had stayed in hotels at Rudraprayag and the State Government had reimbursed their bills worth `25.19 lakh.
As per the details, each of the officers had paid room rent of `6,750 per day and `194 for half kg of milk. Exasperated over this, State Information Commissioner Anil Sharma had instructed the State Government to conduct either an independent inquiry or a CBI inquiry. SIC had even sent notes to the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister as well.
RTI reply further revealed that officials had goofed up with the matters of petrol and diesel reimbursement for the vehicles they claimed they had used during those troubled times.
Investigation revealed that the officials had claimed having purchased 30 litres of petrol for their vehicles. However, as per number plate, the vehicle used turned out to be a scooter.
In Chamoli district, they claimed to have purchased 1,800 raincoats from a shop, but the shop’s address seems dubious. The State Government had paid `98,08,090 against the bills of Deccan helicopter being used for four days. It means the company was paid around `24 lakh per day. Besides, the officials had submitted a bill of `4 lakh on account of accommodation in a Government-run guest house where the disaster-affected people had been provided shelter for 15 days.
Notably, SIC Sharma had also asked for a CBI inquiry into purchase of medicines under NRHM and also into the irregularities allegedly indulged in by the officers during Kumbh Mela-2010.
