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| Minister appears in person, responds to notice | | SAC to decide Taj's fate on Dec 24 | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 17: The Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (SAC) has reserved its judgment on land grabbing charges by Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohi-ud-din for December 24 after the Minister replied to the show cause notice.
The SAC had issued a show cause notice to Taj on his claim that State Vigilance Organization and SAC has given him the clean chit on the land grabbing in Shopian district of Kashmir valley. Replying to the notice, Taj appeared in front of SAC and presented his point and the commission has reserved its order to December 24.
"I have replied to the show cause notice which I can't disclose as the matter is sub-judice," said Taj.
Sources told Early Times that in his reply to the notice, Taj said that he never issued any statement to press in which he has claimed that both SAC and Vigilance Organization have given him clean chit but he had written a DO letter to Forest Minister in this regard. "Taj informed SAC that he is not aware as who leaked the DO letter to media," sources added.
Taj, sources said told SAC that Vigilance Organization had cleared him. The SAC has reserved its judgment on the issue to December 24.
Taj is alleged to have grabbed forest land at Sedev in Shopian district. It was alleged that Taj had grabbed 14 kanals of forest land in 1983 and in 1984 the matter was put in front of Forest and Revenue Departments.
Recently, Taj in a letter written to Minister for Forest Mian Altaf, which was sent to media houses as well, had requested him to constitute the departmental panel that will probe the land grabbing charges. In his letter Taj had claimed that both Vigilance Organization and SAC had cleared him off the charges.
Soon after, the SAC asked Vigilance Organization to furnish records about Taj's clearance. The Commission after scrutinizing its own records found that Taj was never given a clean chit by Vigilance and SAC. Accordingly a show cause notice was served on him.
According to people close to the Minister, in 1984 the Forest Department had disowned that land and had said that the construction of Taj's house was not on forest land. After that in 2004 a complaint was forwarded to SAC by another politician.
Taj had claimed that after the complaint, SAC directed DC Pulwama to probe the matter who asked Tehsildar Shopian to look into it and they gave clean chit to Taj which was published by an Urdu daily Alsafa and English daily Kashmir Images.
Sources said that Taj had brought those paper cuttings to the Commission as well. |
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