Akshay Azad
JAMMU, Mar 4: known for their lack of accountability and insensitiveness, the officers of PDD are even unmoved by the directions of Chief Minister, who had ordered an enquiry in year 2011, but so far the enquiry report has not been submitted.
According to the documents in the possession of Early Time Plus, the PDD had not made payments of Rs. 6.50 Crores to a firm, which had furnished the items including 18 transformers of 220 and 132 KV capacity and 80 SF-6 circuit breakers on October 8, 2010.
"When the department didn't make payments to the firm, the latter appealed to Chief Minister, who took a serious note of the issue," sources said, adding that on the directions of CM, the Director (Planning) PDD on November, 23, 2011 asked Development Commissioner (Power) Jammu to fix the responsibility for placing indent with Planning and Design wing for transformers/breakers without any availability of funds and without even a proper budget provision.
The Director Planning clearly mentioned that, being incharge Ministry of Power, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had desired to fix the responsibility for purchase of items, without any budget, which had put the department into embarrassing situation.
The documents further divulged that the Development Commissioner Power was asked to fix the responsibility within 15 days and submit the report, but the documents further stated that on March 31, 2012 the Director Planning once again asked Development Commissioner Power to furnish the report as the matter was most urgent.
A higher official at Civil Secretariat pleading anonymity said that after 15 months, since the order and enquiry and repeated reminders by Chief Minister, no enquiry has been conducted while the matter has been swept under carpet, deliberately.
Sources said that same was the fate of another high level enquiry committee constituted by Principal Secretary Power, BR Sharma on November 26, 2012, to ascertain the sequence of events in respect of identification of non-feasible piece of land measuring 100 Kanals at Rangil for construction of Grid station, Alusteng which involved a whopping cost of construction of retaining wall amounting to Rs. 18.75 Crores at the aforesaid site and to fix the responsibility for erring officers, engineers.
The eight member enquiry committee headed by Development Commissioner Power, was asked to submit report in one month but on February 19, 2013, Director (Planning) PDD, shot a letter to Development Commissioner Power Jammu, Manzoor Ahmad Salroo.
"The enquiry committee was requested to submit the report within one month but since two months have passed, no enquiry report has been received from your end," the letter disclosed, adding that the matter was most urgent and asked Development Commissioner to submit report for perusal of Chief Minister.
Sources alleged that the officials of PDD, were so adamant and corrupt that they always sought hefty amount for every official work and even took orders of CM and other higher authorities very casually. |
