Hyderabad: The Chief Minister’s Relief Fund paid out Rs 86.63 crore in 2014-15 but it has the contact and other details of only 1.46 per cent of the beneficiaries. The remaining 98.54 per cent of the beneficaries are “anonymous”, and there is little by way of data to trace them, according to an activist.
The CM’s Relief Fund had handed out 12,462 cheques in that period, and the lack of data is leading to doubts regarding the transparency of spending and accountability in managing the money.
Mr Vijay Gopal, a city-based activist, filed an RTI query with the revenue department in 2015, seeking details of the funds received by the Chief Minister;s Office, and the amount distributed to beneficiaries from the Relief Fund.
“The revenue department in its reply to my question informed me that the funds were sanctioned by cheque. For the financial year 2014-15, 12,462 cheques for an amount of Rs 86.63 crore were approved by the Chief Minister,” Mr Gopal said.
“The contact details of beneficiaries are available for 182 cheques, or 1.46 per cent. The details are missing for the remaining 98.54 per cent of the cheques, which amounts to Rs 84.94 crore of the money from the Relief Fund,” Mr Gopal said.
He added, “I found an unusual reason for which Rs 1 lakh was sanctioned from the Relief Fund. In 2014, on the recommendation of finance minister Etala Rajendar, Rs 1 lakh was sanctioned to a beneficiary named Polasani Janamma, who drowned in San Francisco. Except for this, no other detail was mentioned.”
Mr Gopal said when he sought the latest payment details from the Relief Fund, the revenue department refused stating that the information did not come under the purview of the RTI. “It is ironic because I had received information earlier through RTI,” he said.
The activist filed a petition on the matter with the Lokayukta. When the anti-corruption ombudsman asked the revenue department to explain their stand, its officials admitted to have found discrepancies in the disbursal of CMRF funds. It said it would be rectified by the government, Mr Gopal said.
