Police spending money without seeking permission from govt; Home dept issues warning

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Home Department is issuing frequent warnings to the police for spending money on projects and purchases without seeking government approval. The government had to pay Rs 26.35 crore most recently. Following this, the state police chief was given a stern warning that money would not be given any longer for expenses that were not authorized by the administration. The Home Secretary had to issue an order against the expenditure of the police. Due to the unplanned spending of the budget allocation, the state police is in a situation where it does not have sufficient money even to fuel the vehicles at the end of the year.

In 2022, the Home Department had issued a warning to the DGP for diverting without the knowledge of the government the surplus of Rs 8.26 lakhs from the amount allocated for some constructions in the Police Academy. The surplus money from the works such as raising the height of the vegetable garden enclosure and the construction of the mess hall was used for the repair of the roof of the amphitheatre and the construction of a car shed.

This was not the first time that the state police chief had received a warning from the government for overspending. The CAG had found massive irregularities in the purchases such as buying security equipment at three times the market price. However, the CAG's findings were rejected through the Home Secretary's inquiry.

Received warning several times

1. The state police got a warning for buying two cars for the pink police using Rs 17,56,572 it received from the CSR fund of Bharat Petroleum Corporation without the knowledge of the government. The government also directed the police not to accept CSR funds in future without the prior approval of the government or enter into agreements with individuals or institutions.

2. The DGP apologized for awarding a contract of Rs 4,01,200 to an IT company to update the police website. The work order was given to Kavika Technologies before even getting the recommendation of the departmental technical committee. Later, it was validated.

3) The Home Department warned the police chief for allocating Rs 56.88 lakh to a private organization without seeking prior permission from the government to buy food for 25 horses of the Mounted Police.