news details |
|
|
| Whistle blowers continue to feel heat in JK, yet to get safe & secure environment | | | Jehangir Rashid
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Sept 20: Although the Right to Information (RTI) Act at the central and state level provides safeguard to the whistle blowers reports from the ground suggest that these people are feeling the heat with the officers taking revenge from them.
Early Times has learnt from sources that the officers especially the heads of the departments are not ready to accept the pro-active approach of the employees who later out turn to be the whistle blowers. The officers are on look out to act against these employees and as and when they get the opportunity they issue the punitive orders.
"In majority of the cases the whistle blowers take up an issue in order to make the higher ups aware about something going wrong in their particular department. Their only motive is that corrective action is taken and no injustice whatsoever is done to anybody," said sources.
Sources said that despite the importance attached to the proactive role of the whistle blowers these people are victimized by the higher ups. In most of the cases these employees are transferred to far-off places in the state as if they have done something horrific.
"Not long ago a group of employees working in a department holding importance to employment scenario were transferred after they exposed the wrong doings of their head of department. It was only after the intervention of then Governor Narendra Nath Vohra that these employees were repatriated and posted at previous places of posting," said sources.
Sources said that just a week back or so some of the employees of a particular government department were victimized after they published their grievances in a vernacular newspaper and gave vent to their feelings. In most of the cases the higher ups of a department are not ready to swallow the pro-active role of whistle blowers.
"In the latest case the employees after failing to get attention from their head of department decided to get a press release issued in a local newspaper. Through the press release the employees highlighted the wrongs in the department while urging the head of department get the wrongs corrected," said sources.
Sources said that the head of the department instead of listening to the grievances issued an order asking the employees to make it clear that why they chose to route their grievances through a newspaper. The officer concerned did not take any step to redress the grievances highlighted by the employees.
"The officer in question was declared as deadwood by previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government and was reinstated through a court order. He has been accused of amassing huge wealth due to unfair practices and at the same time he has virtually bulldozed the departments headed by him," said sources.
Sources said that whistle blowers are yet to be given proper secure environment in Jammu & Kashmir and as such they continue to be on radar of the anti-social as well as corrupt elements. Successive state governments have failed in this regard much to the discomfiture of the people in general. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
