Centre has written to the Uttar Pradesh government seeking an explanation for the sanction of Rs 170 lakh to the Shaheed Smarak Trust in Ballia district of the state from the MPLADS funds of former Prime Minister Chandrasekhar.
The issue surfaced when present Ballia District Collector Anil Kumar sent a letter to the Ministry of Programme Implementation and Statistics along with a request letter from Chandrasekhar seeking sanction of additional Rs 10 lakh for the Trust from his MPLADS Fund, official sources said.
A sum of Rs 170 lakh had already sanctioned for the same organisation in the previous years from the same fund.
The Ministry questioned the validity of sanctioning Rs 170 lakh to the said trust when existing guidelines state that the administration must seek its prior permission before sanctioning any amount over Rs 25 lakh from any MPLADS Fund, sources said.
Also according to rules no MP can sanction any money for any organisation where he is in the governing body. In case of the Shaheed Smarak Trust, it was found that Chandrasekhar was its Chairman, they said.
The Ministry has written a letter to the Uttar Pradesh Planning Secretary Sunil Kumar seeking his reply on the entire issue in the last week of February this year.
{{/usCountry}}The Ministry has written a letter to the Uttar Pradesh Planning Secretary Sunil Kumar seeking his reply on the entire issue in the last week of February this year.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile the state government directed the Commissioner of Ballia to inquire into the matter but refrained from replying to the said letter by the Ministry, sources said.