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| Bizarre arguments, vague claims render SAC toothless | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, May 13: At a time when the state government is beating the trumpet of ensuring accountability in the government offices and works, its very own anti-graft bodies have been rendered as toothless by none other than the government itself.
On Saturday, Minister for Finance, Labour & Employment, was quoted by the reports as having said that accountability and transparency holds key to development and the present dispensation is committed to provide a clean and efficient administration to people. The Minister stated this while chairing District Development Board (DDB) meeting of Anantnag district to discuss and approve the annual district plan.
However, what this senior minister has forgotten was the fact that the very vital anti-graft body of the state- State Accountability Commission (SAC) has been made toothless with no powers to act against the corrupt in the state.
Pertinent to mention here that the State Accountability Commission had been constituted under the Jammu and Kashmir Accountability Commission Act-2002 to inquire into grievances and allegations against public functionaries and for matter connected therewith Under the Act, the Commission should consist of a chairperson and two members. The first chairperson of JKSAC was Justice R.P Sethi, a retired judge of the Supreme Court.
On the other hand, more than Rs six crore, thirty lakh were the expenditure borne by the Jammu and Kashmir State Accountability Commission (JKSAC) during the past five years. During the year 2010-11, more than Rs 85 lakh rupees were spent on the anti graft body by the state dispensation Rs one crore and seventy three lakhs were spent by the JKSAC a year later in 2011-12. More than Rs two crore were spent in 2012-13. During 2013-14, the State dispensation revealed that the expenditure borne overt the functioning of SAC. Interesting to mention that Governor NN Vohra raised pitch in the year 2011 to strengthen the SAC but the State Government remained unmoved even over appointing the second member. SAC could not take the suo-moto cognizance of any issue due to failure of the State Government to empower it. The High Court here had held that the anti- corruption watchdog cannot exercise suo- moto powers in absence of inherent powers.
As the present government here continues to beat the trumpet of ensuring a transparent mechanism in the overall functioning of the state, it has done little to equip the already neglected SAC with more powers. So far, there has been no measure taken to accord a prosecuting agency along with the investigative wing to this anti-graft body. Its recently appointed chairperson has also threatened to bid adieu to the past if government continues to remain inactive over the measures that are needed to be taken on war footing basis.
Sources within the government reveal that scores of amendments made by successive regimes in the SAC Act resulted in exclusion of the public administration from the jurisdiction of SAC.
The Act, that was ought to put bigwigs under the scrutiny, has been undermined by the Government. Its jurisdiction has been taken away by excluding public servants, Government companies, public sector undertakings and universities which in public perception are cases of suspected corruption. Now its jurisdiction has been limited to political class only against whom there are no complaints being received at all. |
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