Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Oct 6: Ensuring 100 % compliance of the High Court’s directions, the State Government has accorded sanction to prosecute around 44 officials including former Director Rural Development Department (RDD) Syed Asgar Ali (presently Member Legislative Council) in the infamous Panchayat Ghar Electrification Scam of 2005. The other tainted Government servants include Assistant Development Commissioners, Block Development Officers and Treasury officials.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that after deeply analyzing the FIR No.18 and 19 registered by Vigilance Organization, Kashmir in 2005 against around 44 officers and officials of the Rural Development Department and Manager of Vijaya Bank for alleged misappropriation of funds in electrification of Panchayat Ghars in Anantnag and Baramulla districts, the General Administration Department found both the cases fit for according sanction to prosecute those involved in the scam.
“The approval for prosecution sanction was given by the General Administration Department yesterday and the same would be conveyed to the State Vigilance Organization on next working day in the Civil Secretariat, Srinagar”, sources informed.
Two separate cases against these 44 officers and officials were registered by the Vigilance Organization in 2005 after preliminary verification revealed that the ‘tainted’ Government servants had claimed and drawn huge amounts of money on account of electrification of Panchayat Ghars in Anantnag and Baramulla districts.
“Small amounts ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000 had been actually spent on each Panchayat Ghar but bills claimed around Rs 1 lakh for each unit”, sources said, adding “in the scam the officers and officials of Rural Development Department as well as Treasury Officials and the then Manager of Vijaya Bank played equal role in conferring undue benefit upon themselves and causing consequent loss to the State exchequer”.
It is worthwhile to mention here that suo-moto cognizance of the scam was first taken by the then Chairman of State Accountability Commission, Justice (retd) R P Sethi, who held the then Minister for Rural Development, Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed (presently Minister for Public Enterprises) guilty of irregularities.
However, the then Rural Development Minister got the SAC’s proceedings against him stayed by obtaining order from the State High Court.
In the FIR No.18/2005 pertaining to alleged misappropriation of funds in electrification of Panchayat Ghars in Anantnag district, the accused included Zaffar Altaf, the then BDO Wagoora, Showkat Ahmad Sheikh, the then BDO Tangmarg, Bashir Ahmad Hakim, the then BDO Baramulla, Abdul Rouf Banihali, the then BDO Singpora, Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, the then BDO Sumbal, Shafiq Hussain Sofi, the then BDO Hajin, Nazir Ahmad Lone, the then BDO Rohama, Hakim Tanveer Ahmad, the then BDO Zanagir, Ali Mohammad Rahi, the then BDO Rafiabad, Syed Asgar Ali, the then Director Rural Development Department (prematurely retired and presently Member Legislative Council), Ali Mohammad Dar, the then BDO Boniyar, Ghulam Hassan Rather, the then BDO Hajin, Fayaz Ahmad Bayhaqi, the then BDO Kunzer and Mir Munawar Ahmad, the then BDO Pattan.
Similarly, Ali Mohammad Ganai, the then Treasury Officer, Baramulla, Hakim Tanveer Ahmad, the then BDO Sopore, Mushtaq Ahmad Beigh, the then BDO Wagoora, Shafiq Hussain Sodi, the then BDO Bandipora are among the accused in FIR No.19 of 2005.
In response to a question pertaining to Syed Asgar Ali, the then Director and presently MLC, sources said, “since the General Administration Department has given prosecution sanction in both the FIRs No.18 and 19 of 2005 in their entirety, now it would be up to Vigilance Organization to write to the Chairman, Legislative Council, Amrit Malhotra to obtain sanction in case of Syed Asgar Ali to go ahead with the further exercise in the scam”.
In the meantime, Vigilance Commissioner filed status report of six FIR cases in the High Court. However, in the report the status of Panchayat Ghar electrification scam has been shown as pending for prosecution sanction because the status report was filed on October 4, 2012 while as the GAD approved prosecution sanction only yesterday—October 5, 2012.
“Now, only those prosecution sanction cases could be lying with the General Administration Department, which were forwarded during the past some days”, sources said while disclosing that with the decision on Panchayat Ghar electrification scam the GAD has ensured 100% compliance of the orders of the Division Bench of State High Court.
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