Who siphoned off Rs 453.128 lakhs madrassa fund?
New documents show GoI’s financial aid goes unaccounted
Published: Tue, 03 July 2012 11:35 PM
SRINAGAR: The row over alleged embezzlement of funds provided by New Delhi as financial aid to various madrassas in the Valley has taken another twist as new documents have come to fore showing that the amount of money received by the nodal agency for aid distribution—the Directorate of School Education Department (DSEK)—stands at Rs 553.45 lakhs against an earlier disclosed amount of Rs 373 lakhs. Also, only Rs 100.3194 lakhs have been disbursed by the CEOs to 58 madrassas, leaving a massive balance of Rs 453.128 lakhs unaccounted.
In the previous RTI reply, it was said that only Rs 68.28 lakh were released by the DSEK in favor of 30 madrassas in Budgam district and 14 in Kulgam. In Budgam district alone, it was shown that the 30 madrassas received Rs 40.28 lakhs.
The new documents have come to fore in response to an appeal against the previous RTI reply filed by High Court advocates Mudasir Naqashbandi and Firdous Parray.
“I smelled rat in the earlier RTI reply, so I filed an appeal to the first appellate authority under section 15 of J&K RTI ACT 2009 claiming that the information provided was misleading and incomplete. The reply has now come and the information is disturbing and huge funds have been embezzled,” Mudasir told Kashmir Reader.
As per new documents, Rs 70.37 lakh were released by DSEK in favor of 30 madrassas in Budgam district and 14 in Kulgam. In Budgam, the 30 madrassas have received Rs 42.62 lakhs against the amount of Rs 40.28 lakhs given in the previous RTI.
“The list of madrassas in Budgam has been also been faked,” a top DSEK official told Kashmir Reader.
He said the bank account numbers provided against 30 madrassas in Budgam either don’t exist or are registered with personal names.
“Some committees after coming under pressure of the DSEK officers allegedly submitted fabricated reports. Some of the reports of the district committees were also changed by these officers to suit their malicious designs and to cover up real culprits behind the madrassa episode,” the official said, adding, that the district enquiry committee report submitted to Inspection Monitoring Wing had also indicated that the lists of fake madrassas were fraudulently prepared.
“Yes...some of the madrassas were illegally operating outside the ambit of proper registering mechanism; they are fake and stand disqualified,” head of DESK’s OSD monitoring wing, GA Bhat told Kashmir Reader.
Chief Education Officers (CEOs) have also clearly stated that no madrassa or NGO in rest of the districts of the Valley received any financial aid from the department.
The amount meant for the madrassas in five districts of Shopian, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Bandipore and Baramulla also seems to be embezzled as there is no mention of its utilization, neither in the previous RTI nor in the new appeal reply.
“I am surprised and shocked. How can anyone grab Rs 4 crore of orphans and poor children of Kashmir? People have the right to know where is this massive sum? Did it vanish into thin air?” Mudasir said, adding “very soon we are going to approach the State Accountability Commission against those CEOs who are involved in this embezzlement and misappropriation of madrasa fund, and we have faith in SAC that those who are involved in this will be punished.”
When contacted by Kashmir Reader, DSEK director Mohammed Shafi Rather said, “I have joined recently and I have no knowledge about this issue.”
In the previous RTI reply, it was said that only Rs 68.28 lakh were released by the DSEK in favor of 30 madrassas in Budgam district and 14 in Kulgam. In Budgam district alone, it was shown that the 30 madrassas received Rs 40.28 lakhs.
The new documents have come to fore in response to an appeal against the previous RTI reply filed by High Court advocates Mudasir Naqashbandi and Firdous Parray.
“I smelled rat in the earlier RTI reply, so I filed an appeal to the first appellate authority under section 15 of J&K RTI ACT 2009 claiming that the information provided was misleading and incomplete. The reply has now come and the information is disturbing and huge funds have been embezzled,” Mudasir told Kashmir Reader.
As per new documents, Rs 70.37 lakh were released by DSEK in favor of 30 madrassas in Budgam district and 14 in Kulgam. In Budgam, the 30 madrassas have received Rs 42.62 lakhs against the amount of Rs 40.28 lakhs given in the previous RTI.
“The list of madrassas in Budgam has been also been faked,” a top DSEK official told Kashmir Reader.
He said the bank account numbers provided against 30 madrassas in Budgam either don’t exist or are registered with personal names.
“Some committees after coming under pressure of the DSEK officers allegedly submitted fabricated reports. Some of the reports of the district committees were also changed by these officers to suit their malicious designs and to cover up real culprits behind the madrassa episode,” the official said, adding, that the district enquiry committee report submitted to Inspection Monitoring Wing had also indicated that the lists of fake madrassas were fraudulently prepared.
“Yes...some of the madrassas were illegally operating outside the ambit of proper registering mechanism; they are fake and stand disqualified,” head of DESK’s OSD monitoring wing, GA Bhat told Kashmir Reader.
Chief Education Officers (CEOs) have also clearly stated that no madrassa or NGO in rest of the districts of the Valley received any financial aid from the department.
The amount meant for the madrassas in five districts of Shopian, Ganderbal, Pulwama, Bandipore and Baramulla also seems to be embezzled as there is no mention of its utilization, neither in the previous RTI nor in the new appeal reply.
“I am surprised and shocked. How can anyone grab Rs 4 crore of orphans and poor children of Kashmir? People have the right to know where is this massive sum? Did it vanish into thin air?” Mudasir said, adding “very soon we are going to approach the State Accountability Commission against those CEOs who are involved in this embezzlement and misappropriation of madrasa fund, and we have faith in SAC that those who are involved in this will be punished.”
When contacted by Kashmir Reader, DSEK director Mohammed Shafi Rather said, “I have joined recently and I have no knowledge about this issue.”
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