Rawat vows transparency in Kedarnath relief work

Says I want to make it clear that transparency will be maintained in all the transactions related to the Kedarnath reconstruction and other works

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has pledged to present a financial report on all transactions of the rehabilitation and reconstruction works after the June 2013 calamitous floods, for which the Centre had given a package of Rs 7,800 crore to the state government.

"I want to make it clear that transparency will be maintained in all the transactions related to the Kedarnath reconstruction and other works," Rawat told Business Standard.

However, Rawat said he was satisfied with all the works. "I am satisfied and even Uma Bharati ji (Union minister) is satisfied with these works," Rawat said.

He said out of the Rs 7,800 crore, the state government has undertaken works worth Rs 1,600 crore. The chief minister, however, did not give further details.

Rawat's statement assumes significance in the wake of the recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which had said there was no single agency to monitor the use of funds given by the Centre to the implementing agencies.

On being asked whether the S N Tripathi report on alleged scandals that occurred in the five-year rule of the former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has been kept on the back-burner, Rawat said he would present the report in the Assembly very soon. He also said if need be, strong action would be taken against the erring BJP leaders.

The main focus of the Tripathi commission's investigation was the scam in the Maha Kumbh Mela, where central funds of Rs 500-600 crore were allegedly misused.