By RAJA MUZAFFAR BHAT
Corruption has gained unprecedented proportions in Jammu and Kashmir and there is no punitive, remedial or reformative action available in the system. As the government doesn’t seem to be taking any notice, there is an urgent need of a campaign against corruption at the people’s level
Corruption has gained unprecedented proportions in Jammu and Kashmir and there is no punitive, remedial or reformative action available in the system. The youth in the state are frustrated and restive and they seem to have no role models in society and they totally feel bewildered.
Since the Jammu and Kashmir government and the government of India are not taking any notice of the prevailing situation of corruption, there is an urgent need of a campaign against corruption at the people’s level. We, under the banner of J&K Right to Information Movement (RTI Movement), have been using the Right to Information Act as a tool to expose corruption, but we only expose it: No further action is initiated by the state authorities, themselves involved in this dirty game in one way or the other.
Unfortunately, the State Accountability Commission and the State Vigilance Organization have not been able to respond to the aspirations of the common people because of difficulties these institutions must be facing. The result is that people feel badly let down.
The government has not shown any intent to come down on corruption even in cases clearly established.
The State Vigilance Organisation, many years back, registered a case about a fraud using the Roshni Act. But the state government has not sanctioned prosecution of the people involved in the scam. The allotment of land in Gulmarg to land mafia was done in utter violation of the Roshni Act which clearly says that forest land cannot be transferred to anybody.
The vigilance organization was sincere enough about this case, but they could not proceed as the politicians at the helm obstructed the process. The recent ruling by the Supreme Court of India has settled the period of time for which any government can withhold its permission (sanction for prosecution) at three months.
The print and electronic media in Jammu and Kashmir has been highlighting the cases of grave misconduct and brazen corruption in which some ministers have indulged from time to time during past several years. We have compiled a list of all such cases and even a senior Congress leader also highlighted recently the cases of graft in which certain Congress ministers are involved, but no action was taken.
A case of land grabbing was raised on the floor of the assembly a few years back by a BJP MLA from Jammu. He presented the evidence, but no action was taken. We sought information on the follow-up action by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly under the RTI Act regarding this case. Initially, the information was not provided and after approaching the State Information Commission, the assembly PIO informed me that two letters were sent from the assembly to the Revenue Minister in this regard but, to date, no action has been taken.
We obtained authentic information from civil secretariat the PWD (R&B) department that 2,000 works were engaged by the R&B without tenders from 2008 till 2010. Newspapers reported it, but no action so far. We brought this matter to the notice of CM, MOS PWD several times but no action was initiated.
It was widely reported in the press that more than 5,000 people were appointed by the Local Bodies Department in various municipal committees across J&K a few years back under the so called “need-based” scheme. The cabinet has neither approved the scheme nor does it have any policy backing or an approved budget. Seven enquiries have been instituted as mere eyewash and not a single enquiry has been allowed to reach a conclusion.
Since the Jammu and Kashmir government and the government of India are not taking any notice of the prevailing situation of corruption, there is an urgent need of a campaign against corruption at the people’s level. We, under the banner of J&K Right to Information Movement (RTI Movement), have been using the Right to Information Act as a tool to expose corruption, but we only expose it: No further action is initiated by the state authorities, themselves involved in this dirty game in one way or the other.
Unfortunately, the State Accountability Commission and the State Vigilance Organization have not been able to respond to the aspirations of the common people because of difficulties these institutions must be facing. The result is that people feel badly let down.
The government has not shown any intent to come down on corruption even in cases clearly established.
The State Vigilance Organisation, many years back, registered a case about a fraud using the Roshni Act. But the state government has not sanctioned prosecution of the people involved in the scam. The allotment of land in Gulmarg to land mafia was done in utter violation of the Roshni Act which clearly says that forest land cannot be transferred to anybody.
The vigilance organization was sincere enough about this case, but they could not proceed as the politicians at the helm obstructed the process. The recent ruling by the Supreme Court of India has settled the period of time for which any government can withhold its permission (sanction for prosecution) at three months.
The print and electronic media in Jammu and Kashmir has been highlighting the cases of grave misconduct and brazen corruption in which some ministers have indulged from time to time during past several years. We have compiled a list of all such cases and even a senior Congress leader also highlighted recently the cases of graft in which certain Congress ministers are involved, but no action was taken.
A case of land grabbing was raised on the floor of the assembly a few years back by a BJP MLA from Jammu. He presented the evidence, but no action was taken. We sought information on the follow-up action by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly under the RTI Act regarding this case. Initially, the information was not provided and after approaching the State Information Commission, the assembly PIO informed me that two letters were sent from the assembly to the Revenue Minister in this regard but, to date, no action has been taken.
We obtained authentic information from civil secretariat the PWD (R&B) department that 2,000 works were engaged by the R&B without tenders from 2008 till 2010. Newspapers reported it, but no action so far. We brought this matter to the notice of CM, MOS PWD several times but no action was initiated.
It was widely reported in the press that more than 5,000 people were appointed by the Local Bodies Department in various municipal committees across J&K a few years back under the so called “need-based” scheme. The cabinet has neither approved the scheme nor does it have any policy backing or an approved budget. Seven enquiries have been instituted as mere eyewash and not a single enquiry has been allowed to reach a conclusion.
The local press exposed the scam related to copying and impersonation by former Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed’s son during the 2009 matriculation exams. The Crime Branch report has not been made public, and even the Board chairman continues to be in the office
We recently exposed a purchase scam in Government Dental College, Srinagar and Jammu wherein the present principal purchased various dental equipments on exorbitant rates. We exposed all this by using the RTI Act. The local press and television channels highlighted the matter. The vigilance department is probing and the Anti Corruption Special Judge has also asked for a report, but so far the Medical Education Minister Mr R S Chib has not taken any action against the principal of Government Dental College in order to ensure transparent probe. Meanwhile, we have filed a case in the special anti-corruption court in this regard and we hope that very soon an FIR will be filed in this case.
The local press exposed the scam related to copying and impersonation by former Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed’s son during the 2009 matriculation exams, but till date the state crime branch’s (which is investigating this case) report, which was initiated on the directions of the CM, has not been made public and even the chairman of the J&K Board of School Education (BOSE) continues to be in the office.
We exposed a scam of Rs 30 Crore dating back to 2007 wherein J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) allotted Rs 30 crore bridge construction project to a Jammu based firm without inviting any tenders. We obtained documents under the RTI Act. A sum of Rs 5 crore was released in favour of the contractor one year prior to the start of the work (2006). This contract was allotted by the then R&B Minister and till date no action has been taken against the Minister or the former MD of JKPCC.
A senior Congress Minister has grabbed hundreds of acres of land in Jammu and the case is pending in the State High Court.
A multi-crore scam of the J&K Cricket Association was exposed few months back. The media highlighted it but till date no action has been taken against the main accused and it seems that matter has been hushed up.
A few years back a senior cabinet minister was accused of purchasing a villa in the Dubai Palm Islands but the matter was hushed up and investigation stopped. When we sought details from the State Vigilance Organisation in this regard under the RTI Act it was shocking to know that no such investigation had been initiated by the Vigilance Organisation.
The RTI activists and RTI users who try to expose corruption by using the Right to Information Act as a tool are being continuously harassed by the state machinery and other non-state actors in spite of the fact that the RTI was enacted by the state legislature years back. Recently, RTI activist Fayaz Ahmad Wani was thrashed by a sarpanch in Kutabal village in Chadoora Budgam after it was revealed through an RTI application filed by Fayaz that the sarpanch provided 26 cheques (for Rs 48,500) each under the Indira Awaas Yojna (IAY) to 26 of his close relatives, many of whom are minors while some government employees.
The total amount provided by Sarpanch to his relatives amounts to Rs 13 lakh and it was exposed in the local press. But till date even an FIR has not been lodged against the sarpanch, Mohammad Aslam Khan, who is allegedly fully involved in this whole mischief in connivance with the officials from the Rural Development Department Chadoora block.
The Sarpanch and his father Ahad Khan who is the Deputy Sarpanch did not stop here. Only last month on 28th June at around 5 pm the sarpanch along with 20 other goons stripped one Abdul Majeed Thakkar of the Kutabal village in Chadoora and got him paraded naked in the village and his family which included mother Hajira, wife and other relative including a boy of three years were beaten to pulp.
The family has taken refuge in another village as they have been threatened by the sarpanch and his father saying if they entered the village they would be killed. It is so unfortunate that so far the sarpanch and his father (a deputy sarpanch) have not been arrested. All this has been done because Majeed has been seeking assistance from activists of the RTI Movement regarding some land dispute in which the sarpanch is involved and this made Sarpanch Aslam Khan and his father Ahad Khan furious and Majeed was beaten and stripped in front of dozens of villagers. Nobody dared rescue him till he was unconscious.
The reality is that Majeed has not filed even a single RTI application but his mere association with the J&K RTI Movement is an eyesore for people like Ahad Khan or Aslam Khan. Till now, Majeed is hiding in another village and the police is not providing any help to him.
I ask Chief Minister Omar Abdullah: If such brutalities continue, won’t people like Majeed or Fayaz pick up the gun? This matter has already been brought into the notice of the CM and his political advisor as well, but no action has been taken against the culprits. The main reason is that a senior minister in the State cabinet supports the culprits.
But such pulls and pressures won’t deter us from exposing all such illegal activities and corrupt practices. We are on a mission and we can sacrifice even our lives for such a noble cause.
The writer is convener, J&K RTI Movement. He can be mailed at muzaffar.rti@gmail.com
The local press exposed the scam related to copying and impersonation by former Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed’s son during the 2009 matriculation exams, but till date the state crime branch’s (which is investigating this case) report, which was initiated on the directions of the CM, has not been made public and even the chairman of the J&K Board of School Education (BOSE) continues to be in the office.
We exposed a scam of Rs 30 Crore dating back to 2007 wherein J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) allotted Rs 30 crore bridge construction project to a Jammu based firm without inviting any tenders. We obtained documents under the RTI Act. A sum of Rs 5 crore was released in favour of the contractor one year prior to the start of the work (2006). This contract was allotted by the then R&B Minister and till date no action has been taken against the Minister or the former MD of JKPCC.
A senior Congress Minister has grabbed hundreds of acres of land in Jammu and the case is pending in the State High Court.
A multi-crore scam of the J&K Cricket Association was exposed few months back. The media highlighted it but till date no action has been taken against the main accused and it seems that matter has been hushed up.
A few years back a senior cabinet minister was accused of purchasing a villa in the Dubai Palm Islands but the matter was hushed up and investigation stopped. When we sought details from the State Vigilance Organisation in this regard under the RTI Act it was shocking to know that no such investigation had been initiated by the Vigilance Organisation.
The RTI activists and RTI users who try to expose corruption by using the Right to Information Act as a tool are being continuously harassed by the state machinery and other non-state actors in spite of the fact that the RTI was enacted by the state legislature years back. Recently, RTI activist Fayaz Ahmad Wani was thrashed by a sarpanch in Kutabal village in Chadoora Budgam after it was revealed through an RTI application filed by Fayaz that the sarpanch provided 26 cheques (for Rs 48,500) each under the Indira Awaas Yojna (IAY) to 26 of his close relatives, many of whom are minors while some government employees.
The total amount provided by Sarpanch to his relatives amounts to Rs 13 lakh and it was exposed in the local press. But till date even an FIR has not been lodged against the sarpanch, Mohammad Aslam Khan, who is allegedly fully involved in this whole mischief in connivance with the officials from the Rural Development Department Chadoora block.
The Sarpanch and his father Ahad Khan who is the Deputy Sarpanch did not stop here. Only last month on 28th June at around 5 pm the sarpanch along with 20 other goons stripped one Abdul Majeed Thakkar of the Kutabal village in Chadoora and got him paraded naked in the village and his family which included mother Hajira, wife and other relative including a boy of three years were beaten to pulp.
The family has taken refuge in another village as they have been threatened by the sarpanch and his father saying if they entered the village they would be killed. It is so unfortunate that so far the sarpanch and his father (a deputy sarpanch) have not been arrested. All this has been done because Majeed has been seeking assistance from activists of the RTI Movement regarding some land dispute in which the sarpanch is involved and this made Sarpanch Aslam Khan and his father Ahad Khan furious and Majeed was beaten and stripped in front of dozens of villagers. Nobody dared rescue him till he was unconscious.
The reality is that Majeed has not filed even a single RTI application but his mere association with the J&K RTI Movement is an eyesore for people like Ahad Khan or Aslam Khan. Till now, Majeed is hiding in another village and the police is not providing any help to him.
I ask Chief Minister Omar Abdullah: If such brutalities continue, won’t people like Majeed or Fayaz pick up the gun? This matter has already been brought into the notice of the CM and his political advisor as well, but no action has been taken against the culprits. The main reason is that a senior minister in the State cabinet supports the culprits.
But such pulls and pressures won’t deter us from exposing all such illegal activities and corrupt practices. We are on a mission and we can sacrifice even our lives for such a noble cause.
The writer is convener, J&K RTI Movement. He can be mailed at muzaffar.rti@gmail.com
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