KURNOOL/ VIJAYAWADA: a woman, who received a cheque for Rs 26,920 for her medical treatment from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), has claimed that the cheque was not processed by the bank due to insufficient funds in the account. The issue came to light on Saturday.
According to information, the State government had sanctioned Rs 26,920 to Madhireddygari Jyothi, a resident of Ganesh Nagar of Kurnool, from the CMRF after she sought financial help for her medical expenses. Her application was approved and a cheque (numbered 073293) was issued in the beneficiary’s name on March 5.
The same was given to her on April 9, two days before elections, by Erasu Prathap Reddy, former minister and TDP in-charge of Panyam constituency.
Subsequently, Jyothi presented the cheque for encashment at the State Bank of India branch at G Pullareddy Engineering College. However, the beneficiary’s family claimed that the cheque bounced and that the bank officials informed them that insufficient funds in the CMRF account was the reason for it.
“Why should the government sanction financial aid to people in need when there are no funds? It is better to reject the application than issue dud cheques,” M Gangadhar Reddy, the beneficiary’s husband, told TNIE.
Attempts to reach the bank officials went in vain. When contacted, however, the officials concerned maintained that it was highly unlikely for the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) account to have insufficient funds.
“We have only one CMRF account, which is operated from Vijayawada, and we maintain ample funds in the account. Nonetheless, we will verify the facts in the said incident,” Special Chief Secretary (Revenue) Dr Manmohan Singh told TNIE.
Another top-ranking financial official concurred with the Special Chief Secretary and said that CMRF account always has sufficient funds.