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| SAC says sack Ramzan’s daughter | | Retired Forest Officer’s Pension Withheld for Violating Rules | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | May 6
Taking strong exception to the government’s prolonged silence on a clear cut recommendation made by the Commissioner of Vigilance, the State Accountability Commission today recommended termination of the services of an officer who happened to by daughter of a former Minister.
Sofia Tabassum was appointed as Divisional Publicity Officer, a gazetted cadre post, in the Integrated Watershed Development Project in November 2007. Incidentally, Tabassum happened to be the daughter of then Forest Minister Chowdhary Mohammad Ramzan. The IWDP, it may be mentioned here, is run by the Forest department.
The SAC order has also recommended withdrawing pensionary benefits of the project chief IWDP SS Bali, since retired. The SAC held that Bali made appointment in clear violation of rules and therefore his pension should be withdrawn as he has already retired from the government service.
According to the case history, the Govt by a cabinet decision created 224 posts in order to improve the cultivation, production, development and yield of crops/food-grains and to provide other benefits to the persons residing in remote rural areas; a scheme known as Integrated Water Shed Development Project was launched in the year 1990. In order to run the projects with the specific direction that all the 224 posts shall be filled by taking officials on the deputation from the forest dept without making any direct appointment and without creating any liability for the Govt. The Govt also constituted a Committee with the forest minister as its Chairman, the committee known as Steering Committee to review the working of the project. It has been alleged that Mr. SS Bali as Project Chief not only made direct appointment of Sofia Tabasum d/o Minister of Ch. Mohd Ramzan, as Training Officer but also appointed 72 candidates when there were no substantive posts. There was no eligibility criteria fixed in the project. There was no selection committee constituted and even there was a special direction by the Govt not to make any direct appointment.
In the enquiry, SAC found that although Mr. Bali had managed to get the post of the training officer created by the steering committee in its meeting on July 3, 2000, but the appointment of daughter of the minister as training officer had been made prior to the creation of the post on November 27, 1999. It is also noticed by the Commission that prior to the appointment of Sofia Tabsum as Training Officer on November 27, 1999; Mr. Bali had sent communication to the Secretary Forest Dept on November 26, 1999, one day prior to the appointment of Sofia Tabsum to the transfer a Gazetted post to the project. The secretary forest promptly obliged Mr. Bali and transferred a post of Divisional Publicity Officer on November 29, 1999 from Social Forestry Project for a period of 6 months. On intervention of Mr. Bali, the life of the post was extended till life of the project. Mr. Bali immediately appointed Sofia Tabsum d/o Forest Minister on the Gazetted post without ascertaining whether Sofia Tabsum had the basic qualification for the appointment and more specifically whether Sofia Tabusm was qualified to be appointed as Divisional Publicity Officer, Mr. Bali managed to get the life of the post extended from 6 months till life of the project. Mr. Bali passed another order on February 8, 2000 whereby Sofia Tabsum was ordered to be repatriated automatically along with the post to her parent dept after the life of the project came to be end.
The Commission also noticed that in the complaint before the Vigilance Organization, recommendations had been made by the Vigilance Commissioner to terminate the service of Sofia Tabsum on June 8, 2006 inspite of the recommendation of the SVO, the service of Sofia Tabsum was not terminated instead a committee was constituted of Chief Conservator Forest, Special Secretary Forest and Conservator Forest to verify whether the appointment of Sofia Tabsum was validly made or not the Commission has observed disgust that this committee was constituted by Govt only after notice was issued by the Commission requiring the Govt to explain as to why recommendation of the Vigilance Organization was not implemented and the service of the daughter of the minister not terminated.
SAC took serious view of inaction of the Govt and indifference of the Administrative dept to take prompt action, the SAC has recommended that since Mr. SS Bali has retired from service so his pensionary benefits are forfeited and the illegal/ backdoor appointment of Sofia Tabsum be terminated forthwith. State Accountability Commission has also expressed displeasure on the finding of DIG Vigilance Mr. RR Swain in closing the Vigilance Case against Mr. SS Bali on wrong interpretation of the Prevention of Corruption Act. SAC referred the relevant para of the report that report from the Commission of Vigilance through its DIG indicates that respondent Mr. Bali made appointments by making departures from the rules. The DIG also submitted this report seems to have justified the illegal acts of the respondent for the reasons not disclosed. The Commission observed that DIG who made the report seems to be oblivious ignorant of the section 5(d) of the PC Act as the view taken by him that since no bribe had been taken, therefore, the case against act of illegal appointments did not amount to misconduct sufficient to launch prosecution against the delinquent public servant is fallacious. SAC further observed that the bare perusal of the provision of law reveals that if a public servant by corrupt or illegal means or by otherwise abusing as public servant obtain for himself or for any other person pecuniary advantage, he is guilty of criminal misconduct. To say at the cost of repetition legal provision is that if the public servant by illegal means or by abusing his position as public servant obtained any pecuniary advantage for any other person; he is guilty of criminal misconduct as punishable under the PC Act. |
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