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| Corruption: All is not well even with State Advisory Board | | |
ET EXCLUSIVE
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Nov 27: The finding of the Transparency International India (TII) that J&K was the second most corrupt state in India was well-founded. The TII said so twice – in 2005 and 2009. It was not based on a mere heresy. That neither Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed contested this finding in 2005 nor did Chief Minister Omar Abdullah contest it in 2009 was a vindication of the TII. In 2005, more than 100 complaints of corruption and nepotism involving ministers, bureaucrats and police official were filed with the State Accountability Commission (SAC), but nothing came out because the evil of corruption was so deep-rooted.
Ironically, even the State Advisory Board (SAB), which should be above-board, appears to be involved in corrupt practices. The Early Times have accessed a few documents that clearly establish that even Chairman of the SAB, Justice (Retd) M. L. Koul, has indulged in corrupt practices to make easy money. One of the letters (No: 046/COM/TPLM/10, dated 27-03-2010) written by Excise and Taxation Officer, Toll Post Lower Munda, to the Member Secretary, SAB under Public Safety Act 1978, shows that the Chairman of the SAB claimed TA.DA, despite the fact he travelled in a private car owned by one of the members (S Sewa Singh) of the SAB. “The Chairman – apart from getting TA.DA. admissible under Rules, got payment of both ways full taxi fare,” the letter says.
When this act of corruption came to the notice of the then Member Secretary, Retd District and Sessions Judge, Dev Raj Sharma, vide his letter No:SAB/PSA/Acctt./09/329, dated 21-12-2010, asked the Excise and Taxation Officer, Toll Post Lower Munda, if the Chairman of SAB had actually travelled by taxis against which he got the payment. He also prepared a note to this effect which read like this: “Before the matter is discussed with the worthy Chairman I feel it just and proper to seek authentication from the record of the Toll Post, Lower Munda in respect of all those vehicles against which worthy Chairman said to have travelled for getting payment. All private vehicles going from Jammu to Srinagar or from Srinagar to Jammu are bound to pay Toll Tax at Lower Munda Toll Post. The Accountant shall provide me the details of the Taxi/Sumo with dates on which worthy Chairman undertook journey and got payment from the Treasury. A letter be communicated to the Excise and Taxation Officer, Lower Munda Toll Post, to confirm the crossing of the Taxies on the dates/Sumos shown against each.”
As for the letter from the Excise and Taxation Officer, Toll Post Lower Munda, it read: “With reference to your letter No: SAB/PSA/Acctt./09/329, dated 21-12-2009, the information of the vehicles as desired is given below as per computer record available.
S. NO Vehicle No Import Date Export Date Whether crossed or not
1. JK02AG6431 20-07-2008 Not Crossed
JK02AC6431 27.07.2008 Not Crossed
2. JK02AA1315 19.10.2008 Not Crossed
7. JK02AG6701 28.06.2009 Not Crossed
8. JK01H9573 13.07.2009 Not Crossed
11. JK01M4724 28.09.2009 Not Crossed
12. JK02AG5471 18.07.2009 Not Crossed
13. JK149507 23.10.2009 Not Crossed
The letter of Excise and Taxation Officer was self-explanatory. It did indicate that the Chairman of the SAB drew taxi charges from the Treasury despite the fact that he had not travelled by the Taxis he referred to in his TA.DA. bills.
According to sources, the concerned authorities knew all this and yet, instead of taking measures to root out corruption, extended the services of the Chairman of the SAB. It is this kind of attitude of the authorities that has made corrupt officials to swindle the taxpayers’ money at will. That corrupt officials are not only going scot-free but also getting extensions even after their retirement is a very sad reflection on the prevailing state of affairs in J&K. It is time for the authorities to stem the rot and provide corruption-free administration.
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