The Uttarakhand government has directed the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) to initiate action against officials found prima facie responsible for financial irregularities involving expenditure on VIP guests at Kedarnath.
The directive, issued by the Tourism and Religious Affairs Department on June 25, follows an inquiry into payments made towards accommodation, food and other hospitality expenses for VIP visitors. According to the inquiry report, advance funds were allegedly released from the temple corpus without approval from the competent authority, amounting to a financial irregularity.
The report questioned the role of the then Manager, Kedarnath, the then Chief In-charge Officer, Kedarnath, and the then Chief Executive Officer.
In a letter to the BKTC Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Secretary Anil Kumar Pandey directed that appropriate action be taken against the officials and employees named in the inquiry in accordance with the provisions of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Act, 1939, and the rules framed under it.
BKTC is a statutory body which manages Badrinath temple along with 44 other shrines and several schools and dharamshalas in Uttarakhand.
FINANCIAL IRREGULARITIES UNDER SCANNER
The government’s action comes as multiple financial matters concerning the temple committee are under scrutiny, including the ongoing investigation into the alleged theft of donations at the Badrinath temple.
Earlier on Saturday, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) said it had recorded the statements of five witnesses in the alleged donation theft case and was awaiting the BKTC’s internal inquiry report. The committee has also been asked to provide bank records from the last three years as part of the investigation.
According to Uttarakhand Police, CCTV footage recovered from July 2 allegedly shows BKTC employee Pramod Nautiyal collecting cash in a suspicious manner from the temple’s donation counting room.
The investigation was launched after alleged irregularities surfaced during the counting of devotees’ offerings on July 2. A preliminary inquiry found that cash was allegedly removed from the counting area in violation of established procedures.
An FIR was registered at the Badrinath Police Station on the complaint of BKTC In-charge Temple Officer Yudhvir Pushpwan. The SIT has since recorded the statements of several BKTC officials, including those involved in donation counting and CCTV monitoring.
Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar told ANI that investigators were analysing CCTV footage and collecting evidence before proceeding further against the accused.
BKTC’S 4-MEMBER PROBE TEAM
In a parallel investigation, BKTC employee Pramod Nautiyal was suspended after a four-member committee began its probe into the alleged irregularities. The committee, constituted last week, comprises Finance Controller Hem Kandpal, Legal Officer SS Bartwal, Chief Administrative Officer Rajan Naithani, and Kedarnath Senior Administrative Officer DS Bhujwan.
BKTC Chairman Hemant Dwivedi said Nautiyal was suspended after a preliminary inquiry indicated prima facie irregularities. Nautiyal was serving as a private secretary with the temple committee.
Dwivedi said the BKTC follows a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption and added that strict departmental and legal action would be taken if any employee is found guilty during the investigation.
Meanwhile, Nautiyal has approached the Uttarakhand High Court challenging his suspension and the FIR registered against him. Justice Alok Mehra has directed the BKTC to file its response, with the matter scheduled for hearing on July 16.
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