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| How J&K 'shields' corrupt bureaucrats, politicians | | | Mohammad Hamzah
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Mar 29: When it was formed nearly a decade ago to investigate into allegations of corruption against bureaucrats, ministers and other powerful government functionaries in J&K, many had pinned hopes on it, but the State Accountability Commission (SAC) has proved to be a huge damp squib.
The SAC has been issuing notices and filing cases against the corrupt; the latter however do not care a fig for these notices. According to the data available with Early Times, SAC has recommended 20 cases involving 42 corrupt bureaucrats and politicians for perusal and further action by the government since it was constituted in 2005 under the Jammu and Kashmir Accountability Commission Act 2002. And out of these 20 cases, the accused have in 14 cases managed to get stay orders from the High Court to prevent any action by the government. The remaining six cases are awaiting follow up action from the competent authorities.
LACK OF WILL TO PUNISH CORRUPT
The SAC had registered cases of corruption between 2005-07 and decided them up to 2008. But the government, it is believed, did not challenge the stay orders in the court in none of the cases during the time. No other step was initiated to punish the accused, either.
For instance, in 2007, Ghulam Nabi Qasba, the then Additional Registrar Cooperative Jammu, was indicted by the SAC for shielding a corrupt Junior Assistant who had fraudulently withdrawn Rs 50 lakh from the department accounts. SAC recommended to the government to dismiss Qasba from service under Rule 30 of J&K Civil Service (Classification, Control and Appeal), Rules of 1956. Qasba approached the High Court and got the stay orders. He was later elevated as the Director of the prestigious SKICC in Srinagar. No wonder that Qasba was later appointed on the powerful post of Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation.
Similarly, former member of the J&K Legislative Council, Mohammad Sultan Ganie approached High Court and managed to get stay orders on the recommendations made by SAC against him to the Governor to take necessary action against him for corruption.
Another case is of Sheikh Fayaz Ahmad, former Deputy Director Estates. The case awaits follow up action from the competent authority since 2007 after SAC made recommendation for appropriate punishment against him. Ahmad happens to be the son of J&K's former Chief Secretary and former senior leader of the National Conference, Sheikh Ghulam Rasool.
"Tainted bureaucrats and politicians have used the court orders to save their skin. But what is shocking is government's lack of will and non-serious approach to punish the corrupt. Undoubtedly, the SAC has been virtually turned into a toothless tiger by none other than the government itself," a senior SAC official said.
Shockingly, it was the government itself that in 2012 objected to powers of the SAC to take action against any public functionary after it exercised such power in two cases. Later in January 2013, the J&K High Court held that the SAC had no powers to take suo motu cognizance of corruption-related issues.
In the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly in 2014, then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah revealed that there were cases pending before SAC against former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, three ministers, six former ministers, an MLA and 32 serving and former officials.
Besides the Deputy Chief Minister, others facing inquiry included former Roads and Buildings Minister Abdul Majid Wani, former Medical Education and Sports Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din, former Transport Minister Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan.
Other former ministers Gulchain Singh Charak, Mangat Ram Sharma (also a former Deputy Chief Minister), Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Sofi, Suman Lata Bhagat, A G Sofi, and former MLA GM Saroori were also facing corruption cases.
UNENVIABLE DISTINCTION
In 2005, a New Delhi-based NGO Transparency International (TI) bracketed Jammu and Kashmir as the second most corrupt state of India after Bihar. The TI bestowed the state with the unenviable titled after it carried out a survey in collaboration with University of Jammu. The TI statement had annoyed authorities in J&K who called it exaggerated, but the facts on ground corroborated the survey. For example, within just one month of its formation in September 2005, the SAC registered over 100 complaints of corruption and nepotism involving minister, bureaucrats and police officers.
It was, however, absence of powers that prevented SAC from pursuing the complaints. Also, the amendment to the SAC Act making it mandatory for the complainant to reveal his identity saw people losing interest in the anti-graft body.
NEEDED: EMPOWERING INSTITUTIONS
To weed out corruption in the state, it's been suggested that anti-graft watchdogs like the SAC need to be fully empowered.
Noted legal luminary and senior leader of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Muzaffar Hussain Beigh had raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly in 2013.
"Our whole investigation and judicial system is such that without reforms, this institutionalized corruption cannot be rooted out. So for weeding out corruption, institutions need to be strengthened," Beigh had said.
"In 90 per cent cases, ministers sign the files in good faith. But in this House, he (the minister) is responsible for the omission and commission, if any, committed. So when we talk about corruption, it is not against anybody and any minister in particular. But then he too is responsible," he added. |
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