IT News
Imphal, Sept 19:
Recent developments concerning the Sports Authority of India, North East Regional Centre (SAI NERC), Imphal, have raised significant concerns about transparency and accountability. According to reliable sources, some officials at SAI NERC, Imphal, allegedly submitted forged flight tickets and claimed reimbursement for travel expenses.
These concerns revolve around a delegation sent to Dehradun, Uttarakhand, for trial selections held on March 14th and 15th, 2024. The trials were a precursor to the Wushu World Cup qualifying championship, scheduled to take place in Jiangsu, China, from April 21st to 26th, 2024.
As per information, two coaches and 22 Wushu athletes from SAI NCOE were selected to participate in the trials.
Sources indicate that although 22 players were selected, some did not attend the trials. Nevertheless, certain officials requested reimbursement for the full amount of travel fares by submitting copies of flight tickets for the outbound and return journeys of all participants.
To verify the accuracy of this information before publication, Imphal Times team filed an RTI application to SAI NERC on June 24, 2024. The application sought a list of officials and players who participated in the trials, details of the total amount sanctioned for participation, and certified copies of flight tickets for all participants, including the name and designation of the person who booked the tickets.
On July 15, the RTI response was received, but the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of SAI NERC, Imphal, denied the request for information, stating that the proper documents were not attached according to Section 6 of the RTI Act, 2005. Unsatisfied with the CPIO’s response, a first appeal was filed on August 6, 2024.
A reply of the first appeal was received on September 17, 2024, In the reply, Regional Director I/C informed that an amount of Rs. 6,32,592 was sanctioned for participation in the trial selection but failed to provide copies of the flight tickets for all participants stating it as third party information.
The Regional Director of the SAI NERC, Imphal has not explain how the flight ticket book by utilising government fund comes under third party information. The Regional Director should know that the fund utilises in booking the ticket is the public money not a private fund. And, moreover there is no such provision under the RTI Act that the third party information cannot be provided.
The reply further stated that Wushu Coach M. Premkumar Singh booked the tickets for all participants and also he submitted an application requesting the sanction of advance TA/DA.
The refusal to provide copies of the flight tickets has further intensified the sources’ allegations that forged flight tickets were submitted for reimbursement.
The failure to provide copies of the flight tickets for the outbound and return journeys of all participants has heightened scrutiny of SAI NERC’s financial practices. This lack of transparency fuels concerns about potential mismanagement within the organization.
Why should SAI NERC fear providing the copy of flight tickets if they have done anything wrong? Are they trying to conceal the facts?
Since its inception, Imphal Times has exposed numerous irregularities by government officials and has faced many legal notices, defamation cases, and threats from armed miscreants as a consequence of publishing the truth. Imphal Times will not bow down or surrender to such acts of intimidation and will continue to expose all wrongdoing in the interest of the general public.
