Installation of flex hoardings allegedly on exorbitant rates
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 13: Special Judge Anti-Corruption Rajouri-Poonch districts Mehmood Chowdhary has accepted the closure report of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the FIR registered against several KAS officers for execution of work of installation of flex hoardings allegedly on exorbitant rates as no criminality on the part of accused persons was established.
Brief facts and grounds of the case were that a source report was received by the Vigilance Organization (now ACB) that officials of Rural Development Department, Jammu by abusing their official position executed the work of installation of flex hoardings on exorbitant rates without calling tenders and by awarding work to blue eyed persons and released payments to the tune of Rs 90,000 per hoarding against the actual cost of Rs 20,000 per hoarding causing loss to public exchequer.
Accordingly, Vigilance Organization conducted joint surprise checks in Rajouri, Poonch and Reasi districts for the period covering 2015 to 2017. Similar checks were also conducted in Jammu as well as in Kashmir province. The enquiry officer Inspected K D Bhagat vide report dated 20.11.2017 calculated loss of Rs 1086500 in Rajouri and Poonch districts and Rs 2000350 in Reasi district on account of purchase of flex hoardings, execution of wall paintings and purchase of other small items.
On this, FIR was registered against R K Bhat, the then Director RDD Jammu (now retd), M L Raina, the then Director RDD Jammu (now retd), Noor Alam, the then ACD Rajouri (now retd), Suram Chand Sharma, the then ACD Reasi, Basharat Hussain, the then ACD Poonch, Mukhtiyar Ahmed, the then District Panchayat Officer Reasi and Rajouri, Shafiq Ahmed, the then Incharge District Panchayat Officer Rajouri, Zaffar Ahmed Banday, the then District Panchayat Officer Poonch (now retd), Majid Jhangir, the then District Panchayat Officer Poonch and D C Saxena, Branch Manager NCCF (now retd).
The investigation was initially entrusted to DySP Gurmeet Singh Ghuman and later to Inspector Kamal Sangra, who concluded the investigation and presented the closure report as not proved.
After hearing Additional Public Prosecutor and considering the statement of Investigating Officer and going through the closure report and other material on record, the court observed, “it was found during investigation that wall painting rates of RDD were compared with other departments and it came to the fore that other departments also executed the wall paintings during the relevant period at the same rate or even at higher rates”, the court said, adding “investigation further revealed that RDD constituted a team of officers in December 2015 to finalize the rates for wall painting and flex hoardings for Jammu district as per the procedure and rules. The team, after calling open quotations from different suppliers/vendors, fixed the rates which were in vogue in RDD since 2011 and same rates were followed till 2019”.
“I don’t find any reference to the rates in JSC verification report. The FIR was recommended on the basis of differences in market rates and RDD rates. The market rates were taken by the market survey team comprising of enquiry officer and two officials of the Engineering Wing of VOJ which conducted survey in Jammu city”, adding “in the name of the market survey only one quotation was taken for steel frame structure and three quotations were taken for wall paintings”.
After examining the statements of vendors and witnesses, the court said, the Investigating Officer Inspector Kamal Sangra has come to the conclusion that the act of different public servants arrayed as accused doesn’t amount to any criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act as such preferred filing of closure report after seeking permission from ACB Central Office as per the procedure in ACB”.
“The IO has come to the finding that there is no criminality on the part of accused persons and procedure adopted by them was in accordance with the law-fixed uniform rates in Jammu province”, the Special Judge said, adding “I am convinced that there is no occasion to proceed further in this case and also found that there is no loss to the State exchequer as such the closure report is accepted”.
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