SRINAGAR: With startling findings of Comptroller and Auditor General of India, another skelton have tumbled out of the cupboard of J&K administration which reflects the sordid tale of alleged swindling of Government of India funds by a handful rich and mighty known for close proximity with politicians, police and bureaucrats.
As per the CAG findings, the high and mighty of Kashmir allegedly grabbed whopping Rs 41.32 crores from Prime Minister’s Development Package meant for rehabilitation of the poor business community of the Valley badly hit due to the devastation caused by the 2014 floods in Kashmir.
Not only ineligible businessmen but private trust namely DP Memorial were also provided benefits of Interest Subvention Scheme by the government in contravention of laid down norms.
The matter has got “exposed” from details of a file on audit of Prime Minister’s Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir by Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The list of beneficiaries is led by Baldev Singh Raina, who heads the Peak Automobiles, while others include Khyber, Tramboo families, Saifco Cements and Shuhul Automobiles- a coterie of influential bussinesmen of valley.
As per reports, the money meant for the rehabilitation of the poor and the flood-affected businessmen of 2014 floods was diverted into the accounts of the influential families as interest subvention by the J&K Bank after the unrest of 2016.
The six month long agitation in the wake of killing of Hizb commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani that year was used as a lame excuse to benefit the coterie of the influential.
The list of blue eyed beneficiaries include Peak Auto Private Limited (Rs 5.73 Crore), Khyber Industries Pvt Limited (Rs 2.60 Crore), Tramboo Industries Pvt Ltd (Rs 2.89 Crore ), Peak Auto Jammu Pvt Ltd (Rs 2.80 Crore), Saifco Cements Pvt Ltd (Rs 2.00 Crore ), Jamkash Vehicleades (Rs2.14 crore ), Shuhul Automobiles (Rs 1.52 crore), Himalayan Rolling Steel Industries Pvt Ltd( Rs 4.02Crore), Peaks Agro Warehousing Pvt Ltd (Rs 2.00 crore ), J&K Cements Ltd (Rs 1.84 Crore), Iqbal Motor Transport Services (Rs 1.10 Crore), Kashmir Fruit Preservers Partners ( 0.89 Crore), Kashmir Premium Apples Pvt Ltd (1.32 Crore), Gravity Concrete Solutions Pvt Ltd (Rs 1.01 crore), Shaheen Agro Fresh Pvt Ltd ( Rs 1.36 crore) and Pinnacle Resorts Pvt Ltd (Rs 2.09 Crore).
Interestingly, Peak Auto Jammu was given interest subvention even for its venture in the winter capital, which wasn’t in the category of the devastation flood affected areas.
Officials said keeping up with his commitment of rehabilitating the flood affected business community of Kashmir, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had got the relief and rehabilitation money generously granted in favour of J&K government so that the people get duly benefitted. But the then J&K government had allegedly misused it for “vested interests”, said an official of finance department on condition of anonymity.
The Audit Report on Prime Minister’s Development Package for the year ended 31 March 2019 observed: “An amount of Rs 180 crore received from the GoI and payment made to beneficiaries under CMBIRS towards commitment of GoJ&K made during Budget session of 2018-19, was not as per the guidelines of the Interest Subvention Scheme of the PMDP.
The report of CAG said “Scrutiny of records (July 2019) revealed that out of release of Rs 190.20 crore to JKBL, Rs 41.32 crore was provided to only 19 borrowers as detailed in Appendix 2.5.4.
Further, out of these 19 borrowers, accounts of ten borrowers to whom benefit of interest subvention of Rs 21.02 crore had been provided (between March 2018 and March 2019), were not at all affected during flood of September 2014 and they had been restructured only after the unrest of 2016 under Special Rehabilitation Package.” reads CAG report.
Pertinently, the distribution of whooping PMDF funds worth crores were distributed to the elite bussinesmen of Kashmir in violation of laid down norms when Dr. Haseeb Drabu was Finance Minister in PDP-BJP coalition government in erstwhile J&K state.
The CAG report further states that the Joint Director (Resources), Finance department stated in August 2020 that sanction was accorded (March 2018) for roll out of CMBIRS as per announcement made by the then Finance Minister in his budget speech 2018-19 and that the verification of genuine beneficiaries vested with JKBL.
“The reply confirmed that funds released by the GoI were diverted by the Government of J&K for its own commitment and not for payment under the scheme of interest subvention,” reads the report.