After drawing flak from the State Audit department over an ‘exposure visit’ taken out by a delegation from the Left Democratic Front-ruled Alappuzha district panchayat to Kashmir in November 2022, local body president K.G. Rajeshwari on Friday denied any wrongdoing.
A 28-member delegation, including 20 people’s representatives, seven officials, and a representative of the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), visited Kashmir from November 25, 2022 to December 1, 2022 as part of KILA’s initiative to expose local body members and officials to model initiatives under the Panchayati Raj system in different States.
Obtain permission
The KILA had informed that it would cover the train ticket expenses for the touring members in AC class. For those opting for air travel, it asked the respective local bodies to obtain permission from the State government and bear the additional expenses themselves.
In accordance with the guidelines issued by the KILA, the Alappuzha district panchayat sought permission from the Local Self-Government department and suggested to cover the additional costs from the local body’s general purpose grant. Though the department sought a detailed proposal, it submitted the same only after the delegation returned from Kashmir. Before the government issued the necessary sanction to travel and cover the additional costs, the district panchayat had spent ₹6 lakh on flight tickets and credited the amount to a travel agency’s account.
The audit report for 2022-23 noted that the delegation conducted the exposure visit without the permission of the State government and opted for air travel without authorisation.
‘Detailed proposal’
Speaking to reporters here, Ms. Rajeshwari said the delegation travelled to Kashmir after submitting a detailed proposal to the government. “The trip was conducted based on the direction of KILA. The government issues the final permission based on the comprehensive report submitted by the local body after the trip. Alappuzha district panchayat’s Kashmir study tour has received the necessary nod from the government,” she said.
The district panchayat president said the implementing officials would provide an explanation to the Audit department on the matter.
Alappuzha district panchayat vice president N.S. Sivaprasad, standing committee heads Binu Issac Raju, Valsala Mohan, and others attended the press meet.
