Aakash Hassan
Jammu
For 1,198 persons, who are not holding any official position but are availing security cover, government documents reveal that the expenditure on their security is more than Rs 105 Cr annually.
“There are 982 categorized protected persons and 2016 un- categorized persons (not holding any constitutional position or official position in the State or Government of India) are availing the facility of security cover,” states written reply of government in Legislative Assembly in response to the question of Udhampur lawmaker Pawan Gupta.
“Besides this,” it adds, “there are also 284 political activists availing only Hotel accommodation.”
The expenditure on account of security of these Protected Persons is Rs 1052548108 per year, the documents reveal, excluding expenditure on residential guards.
More that, Rs 98 Cr has been stated as expenditure on account of Salary of PSO’s and drivers, while fuel of the vehicles costs more than Rs 91 lacs. The expenditure on hotel accommodations has been figured as, Rs 5.3 Cr.
“The security cover to the protected persons is provided as per the guidelines of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India as laid down in the yellow book,” the government documents state.
The documents state that there is also a periodical review by State Government by constituting Security Review Coordination Committee (SRCC).
“The guidelines as contained in the Yellow Book are being strictly followed and there is no violation of norms,” the documents claim.
