Govt promises action on diversion of funds in West Bengal

The government on Wednesday assured the Rajya Sabha that appropriate action would be taken on the diversion of Rs 45 billion to personal ledger accounts. The amount will also be recouped, the governed promised, after receipt of the final report of the public accounts committee, West Bengal.

Rural Areas and Employment Minister K Yerran Naidu said the state government had reported that the matter was subjudice as two public interest litigations were pending in the high court.

The PAC had sought certain clarifications from the West Bengal government on the basis of the points raised by the comptroller and auditor general's office in its report about the diversion of funds. The state has been asked to submit its report subsequently. If any diversion or misuse of funds was established, appropriate action will be taken, he said.

Naidu said the CAG's third report on the matter had pointed out that the amendment assurance scheme funds were deposited in the non-interest bearing personal ledger account with the treasury, resulting in a loss of Rs 3.759 million in 1993-96.

This, according to the report, was done in violation of the guidelines which required that these funds are to be kept in exclusive and separate savings bank account.

In its fourth report, the CAG had also pointed out that four zilla parishads's Jawahar Rozgar Yojana funds were kept in non-interest-bearing personal ledger account in the treasury from 1989 to 1996 resulting in a loss of interest of Rs 37.7 million in violation of the guidelines.

Similarly, the CAG had pointed out diversions of many JRY funds for purposes other than those which were specified in the JRY manual, he added.