Fifteen legislators and two Assembly staff have claimed Rs 45,000 as taxi fare each for their visit to Brussels, Belgium from Amsterdam, Holland during the 2008 trip.
But the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report quoting the tour operator said the delegation was sightseeing in Amsterdam on that day and had not gone to Brussels, as claimed by them.
Syiem believes claiming refund for places the delegates didn’t visit is an “attempt to defraud” the public.
Legislators, however, are now claiming that they simply put in their assent on financial documents without going into details such as distances travelled, during their ten-day trip to Amsterdam-London-Paris-Rome, while claiming refund from the Assembly Secretariat. “It’s understandable that there may be some miscalculation as to distances between point A and B, but what about claiming refund for places not travelled,” Syiem asked.
Moreover, each member of the delegation claimed Rs 67,500 for their London to Paris, Euro Star train journey. The tour operator, however, charged just Rs 3,073.
Tour operators further charged Rs 68,998 to cover entire accommodation and local travel cost abroad. However, the members of the delegation claimed Rs 5.94 lakh just for taxi fare.
The CAG’s report exposed that in all the 15 legislators and two Assembly staff submitted “inflated and fake” bills claiming an excess Rs 1.67 crore during their ten-day European junket.
Syiem said there must be “vigilance at the top level” in the Assembly Secretariat to ensure funds are not misutilised and spent for the purposes intended.
He has also submitted an administrative reform report to the Assembly Speaker Charles Pyngrope before he retired last November as its consultant.
“The Assembly Secretariat needs a strong team led by Government officials. The staff must be given in-service training on financial and administrative aspects,” he suggested.
Meanwhile, the CAG report stands referred to the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, as constitutionally mandated.