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| Scam worth crores of rupees in Rajouri, Kathua, Samba PHE divisions; probe nowhere in sight | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, July 25: Jammu and Kashmir Government is yet to order thorough probe into alleged scams worth crores of rupees in PHE divisions of Rajouri, Kathua and Samba.
From Minister for PHE Taj Mohi-ud-Din to Commissioner-Secretary PHE B.D. Sharma, none has bothered to even seek a preliminary report into the colossal mess that has become public after certain RTI crusaders got the documentary evidence of scam worth crores of rupees in both Kathua and Samba divisions of Jammu district. Pain of these RTI crusaders has multiplied after they have found Government wanting over action into the allegations that have shocked many in the political circles also.
Minister for PHE Taj Mohi-ud-Din desists from taking action on the grounds that he was not the Minister when the scam allegedly took place. He did promise an inquiry months ago but never ordered it. Instead, all those officials whose names have surfaced are enjoying prize postings in various divisions of PHE Jammu. Early Times is in possession of official documents which give a insight into how the accused have managed repeated transfers and postings in the same divisions during the last 20 years.
Commissioner/Secretary PHE has seemingly made Kashmir his destination for all years to come. If sources in his office are to be believed, Sharma has not for even once asked the Chief Engineer Jammu to find out veracity of reports appearing in various dailies including Early Times. These sources further say that when it was pointed out to him, he rebuffed the same by saying that such scams have become a routine in PHE.
Sources pointedly said that only job left with Commissioner/Secretary PHE is transfers and postings of officials serving in various positions across Jammu and Kashmir. They confirmed that a house committee which was constituted to probe mess in PHE has reportedly gone into deep slumber and is unlikely to complete its task by or before fresh assembly elections. They maintained that neither Commissioner/Secretary B.D. Sharma is interested nor the Minister in getting the probe conducted to find out the truth.
A multi-crore scam was brought forth by elected representatives of Rajouri district during a meeting of District Development Board (DDB) in the year 2006. They had alleged that officials of PHE department had embezzled funds meant for various schemes. They had further alleged that 'whosoever was posted in Rajouri district became rich overnight; built palatial houses both in their native town as well as in twin capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu'.
They had urged the then Chief Minister to initiate time bound inquiry and ensure that guilty are booked and put behind the bars. Taking cognizance of the allegations, the then Chief Minister had sought detailed report of the works executed during the last 15 years (1990-2005) and list of the officials who served in this division during this period but to date, nothing has appeared in black and white.
In another case, Public Health and Engineering (PHE) department allegedly allotted more than 100 works worth Rs. 25 crore to private parties in Samba without floating tenders during the year 2004-05. The list of works, a copy of which lies with Early Times clearly maintains that the works were carried out without tenders owing to "political and official intervention of higher-ups."
These works, as per the records, have been allotted allegedly during the tenure of Ex-Chief Engineer I.R. Shahmiri citing demand from the local public, pressure created by MLAs besides urgent nature of the works. Another scam worth more than Rs. 45 crores surfaced in the Samba division of Public Health and Engineering (PHE) Department.
The scam surfaced in year 2008 when the then IDP General Secretary Late Hoshiar Singh lodged a written complaint with committee on estimates of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly during their maiden visit to Samba. He had even briefed the committee about the manner in which efforts were being made to silence him.
There are also allegations of illegal promotions which have been found true by State Vigilance Organization (SVO) during its investigation. They have dispatched the letter to the Commissioner Secretary GAD urging him to undo the wrong done.
An RTI crusader recently brought to light the scam involving appointment of 644 workers engaged on certificates issued by shopkeepers and non-existent institutes. Early Times is in possession of the records which clearly show that fake and fudged ITI certificates have been accepted while engaging casual and time-bound workers in PHE division Kathua and Samba. A number of candidates among these have been engaged on the certificates issued by shopkeepers.
PHE division Kathua has claimed to have spent more than Rs. 9.69 lakh rupees on the winding of motors in Block Ghagwal of Hiranagar sub-division from 2000 to March 2012. Of the 20 firms engaged by PHE sub-division Samba, only two exist on ground while 18 other firms are non-existent and have been shown in the records merely for withdrawing the repair money. Probe is nowhere in sight. |
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