*H&UD, Revenue reports expose ‘operation cover-up’
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 29: Continuing to hammer the Government over dilly-dallying tactics in taking departmental enquiries to logical conclusion by punishing the erring officers and officials, the Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Bansi Lal Bhat today impleaded eight more Administrative Secretaries as party respondents with the direction to file updated status of pending probe within a period of next two weeks.
When the PIL highlighting inordinate delay in the finalization of 147 departmental enquiries came up for hearing, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed with Advocates Rahul Raina and Suraj Singh appearing for the petitioners submitted that he has filed two fresh Miscellaneous Petitions seeking impleadment of more Administrative Secretaries as they too are soft-paddling on the enquiries.
On this, the DB impleaded Administrative Secretaries of Home, Tourism, Animal and Sheep Husbandry, J&K Special Tribunal, Rural Development Department, Health and Medical Education, Cooperatives and Forest Departments as party respondents in the PIL and issued them notices for filing up-dated status of the pending departmental enquiries within next two weeks.
Senior Additional Advocate General, Seema Shekhar Khajooria accepted notices in the open court.
In the meanwhile, Administrative Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development, Revenue and Finance filed the status of the enquiries pertaining to their respective departments. With this, the number of Administrative Secretaries having responded to the High Court’s directives has reached 13.
However, the reports of Housing and Revenue Departments clearly established that the departmental enquiries are still not being taken up vigorously and unless stringent action is taken by the High Court against those handling the probe the ‘operation cover-up’ will continue.
The Housing and Urban Development Department has mentioned in the status report that efforts were on to conclude and finalize the departmental enquiries in 11 cases. However, replies are awaited from concerned officers in majority of these cases despite the fact that the same were referred several years back.
As far as illegal appointment case in Urban Development Agency, Kashmir is concerned, the status report said that Inquiry Officer has not submitted the report yet and he is being constantly asked to expedite the same. “Now, 15 days more time has been given to the Inquiry Officer”, the Housing and Urban Development Department said.
About backdoor appointment of stenos/misuse of official position by the then Vice-Chairman of Jammu Development Authority, G A Qureshi, the status report said, “though the VC JDA was written four times during last year the reply is still awaited from him”. However, what sort of reply is being sought when the erring officer has already superannuated remains a million dollar question.
Similarly, about illegal appointment of Sanitary Inspector, who is the son of Executive Officer, by Faqir Chand Bhagat, the then Director Urban Local Bodies Jammu, the Housing and Urban Development Department said, “in the month of April 2015 the GAD was intimated that the officer was on the establishment of GAD and has been transferred from the ULB but the reply from the GAD is awaited”. Interestingly, the departmental enquiry has not reached the logical conclusion despite the fact that accused officer has already attained superannuation.
The story of Housing and Urban Development Department’s dilly dallying tactics towards punishing the erring officers doesn’t end here as in a case of illegal grabbing of JDA land by the land grabbers in connivance with the officers/officials of JDA at Lower Roop Nagar, the main accused officer Subash Chander, the then Chief Khilafwarzi Officer of the JDA attained superannuation but the process of seeking replies from concerned authorities has yet not come to an end.
“The VC JDA was written several times but the reply is still awaited”, reads the status report of the Housing and Urban Development Department.
About the case involving Ravinder Sharma, Harditya Singh, Enforcement Inspectors, Suraj Parkash, Harcharan Singh, Assistant Enforcement Inspectors and Rajesh Gupta, Chief Enforcement Officer, Jammu Municipal Corporation, who facilitated illegal construction of commercial hall at Bakshi Nagar, the status report said that the case was received from GAD in the month of January 2013 and after its examination the Commissioner Jammu Municipal Corporation was requested to conduct detailed enquiry and furnish a report.
Moreover, several reminders were also sent to the Municipal Commissioner but the action taken report was not received from the JMC. “Now, Anil Raina, Senior Town Planner, Town Planning Organization has been appointed as Inquiry Officer and he has been given one week’s time”, the status report further said. This case is also a testimony of all out attempts by the senior officers to shield the erring Government servants.
In a case involving several officers of the Khilafwarzi Wing of the JMC, who played crucial role in grant of building permission against norms to facilitate illegal construction by their relatives, the status report said, “reply from the concerned officers is still awaited and now they have been given 15 days time”.
Revenue Department in the status report has mentioned that the General Administration Department (Vigilance), AIG (Policy), Vigilance Organization had forwarded 15 cases pertaining to the Revenue Department, Divisional Commissioner Jammu and Deputy Commissioners for departmental enquiries/action.
“The cases were taken up with the concerned Deputy Commissioners for the follow-up action and as per the inputs received from the Deputy Commissioners, against the 15 referred cases, seven cases were closed after proper enquiry and in one case penalty has been imposed upon the erring official”, the status report said, adding “now, there are only seven cases which are under process of departmental proceedings and in all these cases the concerned Deputy Commissioners-DC of Jammu (4 cases), DC of Budgam (one case) and DC of Baramulla (two cases) have been asked to expedite action taken report in the cases by March 20, 2016”.
However, unlike other departments, the Revenue Department has concealed the present place of posting of officers facing enquiry in pending seven cases. The Revenue Department has further mentioned that enquiry reports are awaited from DC Budgam and DC Baramulla despite repeated reminders.
The reports of Housing and Urban Development and Revenue Departments clearly establish that there is no intention to take the enquiries to logical conclusion by punishing the erring officers.
Follow our WhatsApp channel