*BoD ignored glaring abuse of power for 5 yrs
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 13: Concerned over ignoring of glaring abuse of power for five consecutive years, the PDP-BJP Coalition Government has decided to conduct detailed enquiry into the bungling in Jammu Development Authority committed by the then Vice-Chairman whereby 295 plots and commercial sites were allotted to favorites including the influential politicians and bureaucrats by throwing all the norms to the winds.
It was all due to the involvement of influential persons in the irregular allotments of commercial sites and residential plots that the then Vice-Chairman and those who connived with him in this illegal act have remained unpunished during the past 14 years.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Mohammad Aslam Qureshi, the then Vice-Chairman of Jammu Development Authority made allotments of plots as also commercial sites to various persons from time to time during his tenure from November 2001 to June 2003 for extraneous considerations.
In the month of May 2003 the then Special Secretary to Government Housing and Urban Development Department conducted enquiry into the allegations of irregular allotments. During this exercise, the cases were classified into four categories.
In the first category, 158 cases wherein the persons made payments, executed lease deeds and took over the possession were placed while as 22 cases wherein possession could not be handed over to the allottees were placed in the second category and in the third category 54 cases wherein lease deed could not be executed were kept. In category IV, persons who could not deposit money were placed.
However, in the year 2004 the list of irregular allotments earlier furnished was found inconclusive and 22 additional cases came to the fore raising the total number of cases of irregular allotments to 295.
Though committees constituted as per the decisions of the Board of Directors recommended cancellation of the illegal allotments but every time some hidden hands prevented further action on such recommendations, sources informed.
This can be gauged from the fact that recommendations of a four member committee headed by the then Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department for cancellation of all the allotments made in an arbitrary manner without following a transparent procedure, were placed before the Board of Directors by circulation in April 2006 but the then Minister for Housing and Urban Development Department (Chairman of the JDA) refused to sign the agenda and stressed for re-examination.
When after re-examination the matter was again placed before the Minister later in the year 2006 recommending cancellation of allotments except 40 number of plots because of being allotted in favour of economically weaker sections of society, the Minister approved the proposal and this led to issuance of order dated September 21, 2009 cancelling all the allotments except 40 number of plots. However, the same Minister kept the cancellation order in abeyance and asked the then VC JDA to place the matter in the next Board of Directors meeting.
In the 66th Board meeting, decision was taken for retrieval of land or disposal under norms and formulation of a committee to take a decision on regularization on case to case basis. Though the JDA started cancellation process but the same came to grinding halt due to intervention of the courts.
In the year 2008 one more committee constituted as per the decision of Board proposed that Vice-Chairman JDA may be authorized to regularize the allotment on case to case basis. Thereafter, no further decision could be taken on the issue although report of four member committee headed by the then Commissioner Secretary Housing and Urban Development recommending cancellation of allotments was finally found very comprehensive.
Since June 2010, no attention was paid by the successive Housing Ministers on this grave issue despite the fact that several Board meetings were convened during this period. However, the issue came under discussion in the 74th meeting of Board of Directors held under the chairmanship of Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, who is also the Housing Minister, recently.
Taking serious note of prolonging of decision and ignoring of bungling, the Deputy Chief Minister has decided to conduct detailed inquiry through high-ranking officers after seeking opinion from the Law Department.
“All the bunglings committed during the tenure of Mohd Aslam Qureshi would be looked into and appropriate action taken”, a senior officer of the Housing and Urban Development Department said, adding “the present Government wants to take this case to its logical conclusion”.
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