A part of this amount distributed under the 'financial assistance' heading has been provided without following the related guidelines and procedures while some amount has been distributed 'without any limit' by the Council of Ministers.
The anomaly in the distribution of the amount from the state coffers has come to the notice of the Finance Committee of the Legislature-Parliament and it is to investigate into this.
Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Prem Kumar Rai, informed the committee meeting today that the government has been providing money to the underprivileged and the individuals who have been contributing to the national life as medical treatment and temporary livelihood support.
Recommendation for providing financial support is also received from different ministries, he added.
Secretary Rai said some people with political connection, relatively rich and the same person are also found among the recipients of the financial assistance while some people have taken the assistance repeatedly.
Likewise, according to him, some organisations and institutions are found taking the financial assistance from the government for celebrating their anniversary or any such occasions.
He stressed the need of correcting this anomaly and stopping the plunder on the state treasury.
The government has allocated Rs 200 million under the financial assistance heading for the Fiscal Year 2015/016.
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Baikuntha Aryal said the government has distributed Rs 190 million within the five months of the start of the current fiscal year. "Party leaders and people whose name is not known in the public sphere have been taking the amount specifically meant for the medical expenses for the very poor and persons who have contributed to social life, saying they have contributed to national life," he said.
Aryal said the Finance Ministry had to provide the amount without further scrutiny once the Council of Ministers decided on it. Even some documents presented by the applicants seeking financial support are faulty, he added.
The Committee, after receiving complaints of wanton distribution of financial support like this, issued directives to the government on October 11 not to distribute financial support for the time being and also not to release the amount in cases where decision has already been made.
The Ministry of Finance has stopped the release of more than Rs 60 million in financial assistance which had already been decided upon by the Council of Ministers for this fiscal year following the committee's directive to this connection.
At the committee meeting today, committee chairman Prakash Jwala directed the government to amend the guidelines so that the financial assistance is distributed as per the due process and the genuine people get it.
He a sub-committee shall be formed to look into the complaints regarding the distribution of the financial assistance and to investigate. RSS
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