As reported in in.news.yahoo.com on 5 May 2008: Payback time for Punjab DCs - Yahoo! India News
Payback time for Punjab DCs
THE PUNJAB government has decided to recover money from deputy commissioners who misutilised funds collected by Red Cross Societies for Kargil War Relief, Orissa Cyclone Relief and Gujarat Earthquake Relief etc. Hindustan Times had in December last year carried reports on misutilisation of Red Cross funds.
Resurgence India, a Ludhiana-based NGO, had obtained the information under the
RTI Act. Sources said Chief Secretary Ramesh Inder Singh issued the orders last week asking the divisional commissioners to recover money from the DCs.
If they failed to deposit it to the accounts of Red Cross Societies, it would be deducted from monthly salaries, said the order. The order also said that the DCs who spent the Red Cross Society funds on personnel use would have to deposit the money from their own pocket.
The government would chip in for the amount spent for various official purposes. The Deputy Commissioners of Patiala, Ludhiana and Sangrur districts either used the funds for purchasing personal household merchandise, as mundane as incense sticks and nappies, or bought furniture and curtains for offices and government residences in the districts.
As a result, the money could never reach the victims. Sources said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had taken a serious view of the funds being misutilised.
The government is also contemplating action against the DCs found guilty. It has also submitted an affidavit in the Punjab and Haryana High Court promising recovery of funds from the DCs and that it was ready to chip in where the money was spent officially.