WHAT HAPPENED to Rs 7.51 crore received in September 2005? That was the question often raised in discussions during the past two days when Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) employees were on an indefinite strike.
Belying claims of KMC chief accountant PN Singh that Rs 7.51 crore had been deposited in the salary account no 321301, sources said the fund was deposited in account number 3447 of the Allahabad Bank.
According to sources, KMC received arrears of about Rs 7.51 crore against power dues on September 16. The same was deposited in account number of 3447 of the Allahabad Bank, Swaroop Nagar branch on September 19.
Consider this: On the one hand the employees were finding it hard to get salary while, on the other hand, approximately Rs 1.5 crore from the arrears was given under the development fund. Besides, sources said only about Rs 1 crore was given as pension amount, while the rest of the amount again was distributed under the development fund.
It is not only the salary of employees and pension, which has been adding to the burden on the KMC, the corporation was already in debt of Rs 14 crore following an overdraft from the bank to pay salaries. Sources said the overdraft had also resulted in payment of interest to the tune of about Rs 12 lakh per month, further adding to the financial burden on the KMC.
{{/usCountry}}It is not only the salary of employees and pension, which has been adding to the burden on the KMC, the corporation was already in debt of Rs 14 crore following an overdraft from the bank to pay salaries. Sources said the overdraft had also resulted in payment of interest to the tune of about Rs 12 lakh per month, further adding to the financial burden on the KMC.
{{/usCountry}}When contacted, Chief Accountant PN Singh initially claimed that Rs 7.51 crore had been deposited in salary account no 321301 at the Allahabad Bank, but later changed his statement and admitted depositing Rs 7.51 crore in account no 3447.
Singh further said that only about Rs 1.5 crore had been given under development fund from the arrear amount in two months.
But Singh failed to give any satisfactory reply about the overdraft not being paid back to the bank to save the KMC from giving unnecessary interest.
The varying statement of the chief accountant has further deepened the mystery of Rs 7.51 crore, which the employees’ leaders have been alleging as being misused and demanding an impartial inquiry into the whole transaction to bring the truth to the fore.