Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Dec, 02
Hailing the Governor’s decision to probe into the disproportionate assets of KAS officers in the aftermath of submission of their property statements to check the menace of corruption in the State, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP and former Minister made a vociferous appeal to the Governor to constitute a Commission of Inquiry (COI) against the corrupt IAS, IPS officers, ex- Ministers and ex-MLAs who have accumulated huge wealth and disproportionate assets in the last four years. He 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, Municipal and JDA 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.
Describing 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 for political gains. He said that several ex- BJP Ministers, ex-MLAs and a sitting BJP MP had 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 bungalows. 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.
Revealing further, Mr. Singh said that several ex-BJP Ministers were accused of promoting transfer industry in the state, allotment of works without tenders and back door appointments made in govt departments on monetary and extraneous considerations. Moreover, several ex-Ministers and ex-MLAs had encroached huge state lands, and Forest lands and Custodian lands whose adverse reports had been submitted even by the investigating agencies against them, Harsh disclosed. He said an ex- BJP MLA rose from rags to riches within no time who had been accused of raising two palatial bungalows after elections besides raising huge moveable and immoveable assets in Jammu city and its vicinity which were disproportionate to his known sources of income. He further disclosed that state land measuring 22 kanals and 15 marlas was found to be in his illegal possession and his family besides having involved in swindling subsidies from Agriculture and Horticulture departments which were supposed to be meant for the poor and the BPL families. “Several unemployed youth and employees have claimed to be duped and looted by the ex-MLA in the name of employment besides extortions from employees in the name of transfers”, Harsh maintained.
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 Kishanpur-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 and ex-MLAs of the collapsed coalition squarely responsible for most of the irregular practices in the departments of R&B, PHE, PDD, H&ME 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 IAS, IPS officers,ex- MLAs and Ex-Ministers of erstwhile unethical 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.
