Malik Jehangir:
SRINAGAR: An Executive Officer of a municipal committee of Kashmir while flouting rules and regulations has spent the money collected on account of user charges on the payment of salary to the consolidated workers and employees working at the committee.
Sources said that then Executive Officer, Municipal Committee, Pampore, Ghulam Mohammad Lone collected the user charges from the officials of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) posted at the bottling plant of the company at Galander-Pampore. The money collected was supposed to be spent on the development works of the town.
However, the Executive Officer of Municipal Committee, Pampore threw the norms to wind and spent the money on payment of salary to the employees and consolidated workers of the committee. The same was highlighted by the officer in such a way as if he has done some wonders while discharging his professional duties.
In order to cover up for the violation of rules and regulations the Executive Officer shot a letter to Director Urban Local Bodies, Kashmir and hailed him for the support in this regard. The Executive Officer wrote that the payment of user charges was pending since 2017 due to the implementation of Goods & Services Tax (GST) in the country.
In the letter the Executive Officer said that more than 56 lakhs were collected from the officials of HPCL on account of user charges. It has also been written that the amount collected as user charges has been credited in the official account of Municipal Committee, Pampore.
The utilization of user charges for the salary has come in for sharp criticism from the people in general more so from the concerned stake holders. The rules governing the Municipal Laws in Jammu & Kashmir make it clear that the money received by a municipal committee or council should be utilized in development and not for payment of salary.
The unfortunate part in this whole story is that the successor of Lone has in a communication to Additional Deputy Commissioner, Awantipora written that no wrong whatsoever has been done by the former Executive Officer, Municipal Committee Pampore. The Civil Society of Pampore has taken a strong note of the development and asked the higher ups to order a thorough probe in the whole matter.