Shadow Correspondent
Jammu,June 22:
Vociferously urging upon the Governor to constitute a commission of inquiry (COI) against the corrupt MLAs and Ministers who have accumulated huge wealth and disproportionate assets in the last three and a half years, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP and former Minister lambasted the erstwhile State govt for having grossly failed to take action against the blemished politicians who had looted public exchequer, encroached State lands, Forest lands and Custodian lands besides installed illegal brick kilns, stone crushers, hot mix plants and raised mammoth movable and immovable properties in various parts of the state by abusing their position and authority. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.
Ridiculing the PM Modi’s tall slogan of providing transparent, accountable and corruption free governance to the people as hoax, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that all such rants were made to enchant the masses in the name of ‘Achey Din’. He said that several ex- BJP Ministers and a sitting BJP MP have been reported of late to have created huge assets, taken loan from J&K Bank amounting to Rs. 30 crores and got it declared NPA besides defied norms and procedures and violated the defence acts besides violations in constructing un-authorized structures and palatial bunglows. He said that even during demonetization a Minister’s vehicle was widely reported to have been apprehended while carrying huge ‘dirty cash’ for conversion into new currency notes. “Similarly another Minister’s spouse was reported to have been video-graphed while converting black money into gold. Another Minister accused of having taken several crores as bribe from his colleague MLC for granting permission for construction of private apartments in an environmentally fragile area of Jammu”, Harsh divulged.
Accusing several ex-Ministers and a sitting MP for running illegal pollution creating units including stone crushers, brick kilns, hot mix plants etc without NOCs in a gross violation of the directions of High Court and Supreme Court, he regretted that two illegal stone crushers were operational in Krishanpur-Manwal but the authorities concerned had termed a blind eye to the same in view of the pressure of the BJP MP running the unauthorized units. Further, holding the ex-Ministers of the collapsed coalition and several present MLAs squarely responsible for most of the irregular practices in the departments of R&B, PHE, PDD and RDD in particular, Mr. Singh said that unscrupulous leaders often used their influence and exerted undue pressure on officers to confer undue benefits upon their favourites. He said that taking unfair advantage of their position and authority, the helmsmen resorted to coercion to get their unjustified and irregular demands fulfilled and works executed without observing codal provisions.
Urging the Governor to constitute a commission of inquiry to probe into the involvement of MLAs and Ex-Ministers of unholy alliance in corrupt deeds, large scale bungling and other acts of omission and commission, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that until noose was tightened around corrupt politicians good and clean governance could not be delivered to the public.
