CAG-HARYANA 2 LAST

According to the Haryana Legislative Assembly (Allowances According to the Haryana Legislative Assembly (Allowances of Members) Rules, 1976, MLAs are entitled to claim travelling allowance (TA) for every journey undertaken by them for the purpose of attending a session of the Assembly or a meeting of a Committee or for the purpose of attending any other business under orders of the Speaker. "Fifteen members of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha (HVS) preferred TA bills for the same period during which, they had claimed an amount of Rs 23.20 lakh on account of reimbursement of free travel facility for visiting various places in the country. Payment of both TA and free travel facility claims for the same period/dates was not in order. Thus, a sum of Rs 23.20 lakh was paid in excess to these members," the auditor noted. It was also found in the report that as many as 24 MLAs including Anand Singh Dangi, Bhupender Singh (Hooda), HS Chattha and their family members undertook more than one journey in a year during the period between 2006 and 2009, against one journey in a year as provided in the Act. They had made more than one claim for reimbursement of their expenses under free travel facility and had drawn Rs 47.61 lakh for the subsequent journeys in the year, it said. As Section 7 of the Haryana Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Act provides free travel facility for one journey to MLAs and each member of their family individually in a year, therefore, claims made for subsequent journeys by same members in the same year were irregular, the CAG added. PTI CHS AKA DKB