Congress accused of misappropriating flood relief funds

Congress accused of misappropriating flood relief funds

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore, June 7, 2010: The Congress stands accused of having misappropriated the funds it collected last year for the flood victims of North Karnataka. Vijaya Karnataka, a Kannada daily, has been keeping track of this fund ever since it was first set up to this day. The Congress had collected approximately Rs 2.30 crore from various sources. Records show that Rs 1.10 crore of this fund was used to purchase bed sheets, blankets, and other necessities for the flood victims. The money was also transferred to the authorized bank account 0788101020789 of the KPCC. 

In the first place, the Congress has committed a grave error by not utilizing the funds in the proper manner and by not turning over the funds either to the government or the concerned district commissioners. Second, the money donated by the people for the welfare of the flood victims was used for other purposes, which amounts to misappropriation of funds. Third, a part of this fund has been kept in a fixed deposit. 

No records exist about the Congress building houses for the flood victims. In this case, why did the Congress make purchases worth Rs 2,54,212 from Panduranga Tiles? Instead of spending the public’s money with responsibility, the Congress leaders have callously misappropriated those funds without even sparing a thought for the suffering flood victims of North Karnataka. 

Congress’s Irresponsible Spending
The Congress has set aside Rs 75 lakh from the funds collected for the flood victims of North Karnataka to be used in the event of a flood next year. Rs 50.1 lakh of the flood relief fund has been used for Congress office expenses and Rs 4,82,861 has been used for advertisements. In other words, the Congress has misappropriated the funds collected for the purpose of rehabilitating the flood victims of North Karnataka. 

The Congress has taken Rs 13,824 and Rs 19,240 from the flood relief funds to purchase flight tickets for M. V. Rajashekaran and to provide 500 T-shirts to Youth Congress activists, respectively. The Congress has also prepared a flood relief report and has spent Rs 70,000 from the fund to print 150 copies of this report. To make matters worse, the Congress has been accusing the BJP-led state government of not making proper use of funds earmarked by the central government for the flood victims. Moreover, Congress leaders are still holding on to Rs 4,40,890 collected for flood relief purposes. 

Committee to Control Fund Collection and Utilization
The central government realized that a major portion of funds collected on the occasion of natural disasters such as Tsunami and the earthquake of Gujarath do not reach the victims. The government, therefore, made it mandatory for various organizations to register their funds with the government and receive prior permission for fund collection. The organizations are not permitted to spend these funds as they like. The funds are to be turned over to the government. 

The central government has constituted a committee comprising the secretaries of several departments headed by the chief secretary. This committee was entrusted the responsibility of receiving the money collected by various organizations for the purpose of relief and of controlling its use. Even the Adichunchunagir Mutt collected funds for the flood victims of North Karnataka; however since the Mutt got no opportunity of using it, the funds were turned over to the central government. It may the recalled that the Mutt had requested the government to submit a report on how the funds collected by it were spent.