Terming as “rant” Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy’s charge that the Raj Nivas was blocking release of grant-in-aid to schools, Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi said on Friday that she would go by the book as far as financial sanctions and policy approvals were concerned to uphold the long-term interest of the Union Territory.
Ms. Bedi was reacting to Mr. Narayanasamy’s accusation at a press meet on Thursday that the Lieutenant Governor had landed the government “in an embarrassing and critical position” by declining to approve release of funds for aided schools — he had contended that although the government had sent the file to the Raj Nivas seeking approval for releasing funds to 35 aided schools in the Union Territory, Ms. Bedi had returned the file recommending the government to scrap the release of funds to schools in a phased manner.
In response to the Chief Minister’s charge, Ms. Bedi said that “grants-in-aid and policy approvals are governed by General Financial Rules and the business rules besides other legal provisions.
And observance of these is the responsibility of the Chief Secretary along with his Secretaries as per Rule 59 of the Business Rules (Chapter VI).”
Independent scrutiny
“Hence each time the Chief Minister or Secretariat sends a file to the Administrator’s office for a sanction and approval, it is in accordance to the rules. So, once a file is received in LG Secretariat, it demands an independent examination by the Administrator. That is what this approval or sanction implies,” Ms. Bedi said.
The Lt. Governor contended that the long prevailing problem lay “in the fixed belief of the Chief Minister that the Lt. Governor is a mere rubber stamp to endorse whatever is proposed by him. Then why send the file?”
According to Ms. Bedi, the Chief Minister could not “send files with a pre expected decision”.
“On the one hand, the Chief Minister sends the file and (on) the other hand he cries foul and complains when the decision is not in accordance with his wishes,” she said..
“Regrettably, the Chief Minister expects mere endorsements and not independent application of mind. And a decision which suits him even if it is in violation of financial or administrative rules,” she alleged.
In a sign of extreme annoyance, Ms. Bedi remarked: “Keep a rubber stamp in your own office and just stamp it yourself”.
