CM reviews Vigilance Dept functioning

Hyderabad, Nov 9 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today reviewed in detail, the functioning of Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) Department.

Lauding the performance of the V&E department, the Chief Minister said the department was not only playing a vital role in plugging the loopholes in collection of taxes but also in curbing wasteful expenditure at various levels in different departments.

Dr Reddy said the reports of the V&E department should be treated with utmost priority by all the Departments concerned.

He also stressed the need for a transparent and responsive system to ensure that the Government funds reach the needy and target groups without being siphoned off by vested interests for their ulterior motives, an official release said.

When it was brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that the software firms were paying VAT in Karnataka unlike in Andhra Pradesh, Dr Reddy directed that the issue relating to liability of VAT on software industry must be resolved at the earliest by the Committee of Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted for this purpose.

Observing that the entertainment tax from the Cable TV operators was not being realised on account of some confusion on the role of Municipal Commissioners/Executive Officers of Panchayat Raj Department, the Chief Minister directed that a meeting of Municipal Administration, Panchayat Raj and Commercial Tax Departments be convened in order to set it right.

Referring to the developmental schemes and welfare programmes, Dr Reddy expressed concern over the benefits not reaching the target groups in large number of cases due to irregularities. Similarly, he underscored the need for putting in place an effective monitoring mechanism to curb the magnitude of wasteful expenditure taking place in various departments.

Directing that action taken on important reports from the V&E department be reviewed regularly, the Chief Minister said regular meetings should be held at the Chief Secretary's level with the Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of all departments concerened for expediating Action Taken Reports (ATR) from all concerned, the release added.

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