“Irregular action of Home Department to pay one-month additional salary to 483 police personnel who were not deployed for election duties during the conduct of Municipal/ Panchayat elections, 2018 resulted in inadmissible payment of Rs 1.58 crore”
K Koushal
Under the garb of Jammu and Kashmir Government, General Administration Department sanction for payment of one-month additional salary/ wages/ remuneration as the case may be, in respect of employees who were deployed for conduct of Municipal/ Panchayat elections, 2018 or both, Home department has allegedly made inadmissible payment to the police personnel engaged with Very Important Persons (VIPs).
According to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Audit scrutiny of records (December 2020 to June 2021) of six Drawing and Disbursing Officers of Home department revealed that one-month additional salary was irregularly paid to 483 police personnel who were not deployed for conduct of Municipal/ Panchayat elections, 2018 as they were providing security to Very Important Persons (VIPs) and other protected persons in and outside their respective districts during the months in which elections were held, thereby resulting in inadmissible payment of Rs 1.58 crore in respect of 483 employees.
“On this being pointed out in Audit, Accounts Officers, Offices of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu and Rajouri, SSP Doda and Commandant IR-2nd Battalion, Rajouri accepted the audit contention and stated that payment was made inadvertently and recovery would be initiated against the said employees,” reads the report, adding that the Accounts Officer, Office of SSP, Reasi stated that recovery had been started from the salary of May 2021 in respect of said employees.
Thus, irregular action of Home Department to pay one-month additional salary to police personnel who were not deployed for election duties during the conduct of Municipal/ Panchayat elections, 2018 resulted in inadmissible payment of Rs 1.58 crore.
“The matter was referred to the Government in January 2022. Financial Advisor/ CAO Home Department stated that an amount of Rs 1.10 crore had been recovered against inadmissible payment of Rs 1.58 crore,” observed CAG, adding that it was further stated that SSP Jammu, SSP Doda and SSP Rajouri had recovered more than 75 per cent and were in the process of recovering outstanding amount.
