In order to ensure utmost transparency and accountability in the affairs of the Municipal Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions in Jammu and Kashmir, the need of there being two Ombudsmen, one each to overlook, supervise and monitor smooth functioning of both these institutions separately, becomes imperative. Since the extent and scope of these grass root democratic institutions are broad based and extensive in comparison to the past especially in the light of placing of substantial amount of funds at their disposal, it was decided to appoint two Ombudsmen wielding sufficient powers to ensure probity and integrity in set procedural and methodological functioning. Eligibility criteria too was prescribed but in fact, the appointments did not take place so far as the UT administration is reported to have faced certain difficulties in finding out the suitable candidates. In the meantime, since it became clear that eligibility criteria and availability of suitable candidates did not match, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, however, having come to know of the fact has finally relaxed the eligibility criteria for such appointments in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
For the said purpose, Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Ombudsman Act 2010 and Jammu and Kashmir Ombudsman for Panchayats Act 2014 have been accordingly amended through Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Adaptation of State Laws) Order 2020 dated March 31 of the year. The eligibility criteria required a candidate to have been a judge of the High Court or eligible to be promoted for such a judicial position. Besides, this requirement as a pre requisite in having been a judge of the High court, relaxed provisions have it that a person who had served as Commissioner or Secretary to the Government or equivalent rank could now be eligible for and appointed as Ombudsman. Not only this, the manner of appointment too has been revised as the same is to be done by the Lieutenant Governor on the advice of and consultations with the members on the committee comprising Advisors, one of whom shall be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Secretary. Under earlier provisions it was to be done by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister of the erstwhile State.
However, so far as the pay and allowances payable to the Ombudsman are concerned, slight amendment to the earlier provisions is that as “admissible to a judge of the High Court only.” Having thus made the procedures of appointment of the Ombudsman smooth and easy by evolving relaxations in eligibility criteria, the UT administration should now hopefully find no difficulties in making the appointments of these two Ombudsmen so that by exercising of powers similar to the one vested in a civil court, all such actions which are required to be taken for smooth and transparent functioning of the Municipal bodies and Panchayats are taken in right earnest and which during the absence of appointment of such authority, might have otherwise crept in, perhaps, substantially.
We have instances where certain breaches in the briefs in matters of initiating of new projects or similar ‘works’ without proper authority by some Municipal Bodies etc and other actions requiring scrutiny to rule out any malpractices needed an early appointment to these two important posts keeping in view the number of the Municipal and Panchayati bodies respectively. Timely investigations into charges of corruption and corrupt practices, the chances of which in such a vast spread of these bodies are not ruled out, could be effectively carried out by such authorities. In fact, that alone is the objective and rationale behind appointment of such an authority. To lend credibility and seriousness to complaints made to the authority of the Ombudsman against any official or authority in charge of these urban and rural Bodies, the provision of the non seriousness or the triviality in the substance of a complaint had its mechanism to be counterproductive for the complainant itself by imposing fines and costs which rules out any scope of unsubstantiated grounds of complaints. Other matters of importance requiring indulgence of an Ombudsman too warrant an early appointments of the two of them.
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