HC transparency rider on release of discretionary fund

Alleging that grants were being sanctioned on ‘pick-and-choose’ basis,without evaluating the competing claims of various applicants,Arora had sought the introduction of effective safeguards against misuse of the funds being released by the CM,other ministers and the parliamentary secretaries.

“Sanction or release of grants by ministers under discretionary quota on the basis of pick and choose cannot be acceptable to any society governed by rule of law,” the Bench ruled while passing the directions.

Earlier,Avtar Singh Mavi,Under Secretary to government of Punjab,Department of Rural Development and Panchyats,filed an affidavit in the court. After reading the affidavit,the Bench observed that an officer of Under Secretary level cannot be expected to give his opinion about the irregularities in sanction of discretionary grants by the higher officials. Referring to the contents of the affidavit,the Bench observed that detailed report should be filed by Secretary,Department of Rural Development and Panchayats,giving the details about the persons who sanctioned such grants. “He should also explain as to whether antecedents of beneficiaries of the grants were checked or not” the court ordered,while directed Punjab to explain its stand about the procedure,if any,being adopted to verify whether the grants have actually been used for the purpose for which they were released.

The directions have come as an embarrassment for the Parkash Singh Badal-led dispensation,which earlier faced flak after the Accountant General (audit) had found irregularities in the way discretionary grants were being sanctioned in Punjab.