Pauri District Magistrate Chandra Shekhar Bhatt has not yet acted on the memorandum served by five members of Pauri municipal council against council’s chairman Yashpal Benam for the latter’s alleged misuse of municipal funds. Saying this, these members further alleged that the chairman is continuing with his vicious game with Rs10 lakh having been withdrawn on Summer Festival without the board’s sanction.
They reiterated their demand to probe the irregularities involving the board’s funds. Five Pauri municipal council members are Neelam Rawat, Deepak Rawat, Vinod Bisht, Arvind Rawat and Manoj Negi. The secretary, Uttarakhand Urban Development, has sent a circular to all Nagar Mahapalika and Nagar Palika in April that the board fund cannot be spent in anticipation of board’s approval in any case.
If such things happens the money spent would be realised from the concerned chairman, he averred. Vinod Bisht said that only a proposal for the proposed Pauri summer festival was placed during the board’s meeting while it was opposed by the members. Since the proposal has not been formally passed and approved by the board, the chairman cannot withdraw and use the board fund. “This amounts to a case of blatant misuse of the civic body fund,” he said.