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CAG pulls up J&K home dept for releasing addl salary to cops
The government had released an additional month of salaries and wages to employees who had performed election duties during the local bodies and panchayat elections in J&K. The CAG, in its report, said that the conduct of municipal and panchayat elections, 2018, resulted in inadmissible payment of ₹1.58 crore in respect of 483 police personnel.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has pulled up the Jammu and Kashmir home department for releasing additional salary to police personnel who were not deployed for election duties during the conduct of municipal and panchayat elections, 2018.
The government had released an additional month of salaries and wages to employees who had performed election duties during the local bodies and panchayat elections in J&K.
The CAG, in its report, said that the conduct of municipal and panchayat elections, 2018, resulted in inadmissible payment of ₹1.58 crore in respect of 483 police personnel.
“Audit scrutiny of records (December 2020 to June 2021) of 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 the 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 election months,” the CAG report pointed out.
Giving details, the report said that SSP Jammu, SSP Rajouri, SSP Doda, SSP Reasi, SSP Kathua and Commandant IR2nd Battalion, Rajouri, had released additional salaries and wages to police personnel.
“On this being pointed out (December to June 2021) in audit, accounts officers, offices of senior superintendent of police (SSP), Jammu, and Rajouri, SSP Doda and Commandant IR-2nd Battalion, Rajouri, accepted (September 2021) the audit contention and stated that payment was made inadvertently and recovery would be initiated from the said employees. Accounts officer, office of SSP, Reasi, stated (September 2021) that recovery had been started from the salary of May 2021 in respect of said employees,” the report said.
The CAG, in its report, further said the matter was referred to the government in January 2022. “Financial adviser/CAO home department stated (May 2022) that an amount of ₹1.10 crore had been recovered against inadmissible payment of ₹1.58 crore. Further, it was stated that SSP Jammu, SSP Doda and SSP Rajouri had recovered more than 75% and were in the process of recovering outstanding amount,” the report said.
