Shake up in J&K bureaucracy: 10 IAS officers touched

Reenzu punished for ‘extra-curricular activity’, Bareilvi activism

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, May 10: In the much speculated administrative reshuffle today, Omar Abdullah Government has sprung a surprise by replacing the high profile Director of Information, Farooq Reenzu, with Zaffar Ahmad, a Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) officer of 1984 batch, who has been lately inducted into Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The state Cabinet, which held its first meeting in the summer capital after the annual return of Durbar from Jammu last week, also ordered transfer and appointment of nine other IAS officers of the ranks of Principal Secretary, Commissioner-Secretary and Secretary.

With many of the bureaucrats and politicians hazarding varied guesses over the reason, Cabinet removed Farooq Reenzu and attached him to General Administration Department, while appointing Zaffar Ahmad as the new Director of Information. After a long stint as Deputy Director, Reenzu functioned as Director of Information for three curtailed tenures since 2005. In 2007, then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad posted him as Deputy Commissioner of Budgam and appointed Khalid Bashir as the head of Information Department. In the thick of 2008 street agitation in Valley, Reenzu was brought back to Information.

In April 2010, when he also held the charge of Director Local Bodies Kashmir, he was divested of both the portfolios but he quickly managed to get back one---Local Bodies. However, in August 2010, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah got him back as full-time Director of Information. Today’s Cabinet meeting witnessed his second unceremonious exit in three years. He was the only office of the rank of Director who was removed in today’s administrative reshuffle. Remaining 10 are IAS officers and among them only Zaffar holds the lower rank of Special Secretary to Government (Director).

Even as nobody was believed to have an inkling of the actual reason, many in Government, media and politics seemed to believe that Reenzu had been “punished” for his extra-curricular activity of gaining proximity to a religious leader and provoking him to issue a ‘Fatwa’ against one of the sects of Muslims in Valley. He had extensively identified himself with clerics of the Bareilvi school of thought in the last over one year. However, a section of bureaucracy insisted that Reenzu’s role in the controversial promotions and appointments in Local Bodies Kashmir, that has been critically flagged by an inquiry, could also be a reason.

Asked for his comment, Reenzu said that he had been targeted and victimized on account of his working hard and seeking induction into IAS as per a court order more than twice in the last few years. He lamented that his being a “stanch nationalist and patriot” had proved to be his liabilities.

The incoming Director of Information, Zaffar Ahmad, is an unassuming and low-key official who has held different postings as Deputy Secretary, Additional Secretary and Special Secretary in Civil Secretariat in the last 13 years. During his initial 13 years in the field, after qualifying KAS in 1984, Zaffar worked as Assistant Director and Deputy Director of Food and Supplies Department. He also served a deputation term with FCI and remained posted as Joint Manager Operations (equivalent to Regional Manager). He worked as Trade Agent in Mumbai for two years and briefly held the charge of Director Handicrafts.

For most of the time in the last 6 years, Zaffar served as Special Secretary to Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Special Secretary to Governor S K Sinha and later Special Secretary to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. During these tenures, he twice held the additional charge of Director of Information. This is for the first time that he has been substantively appointed as Director of Information, through nobody has been appointed as his reliever in Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

Apparently doing away with the rot of adhocism in the middle rungs of state bureaucracy, Cabinet also ordered transfer and appointment of nine other IAS officers. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah presided over the meeting. Minister of Finance, Abdul Rahim Rather, who is reportedly busy with the treatment of his wife outside J&K and is likely to return on Saturday, was the only absentee.

K. B. Agarwal, IAS (JK: 1985) Principal Secretary to Government Public Works IR&B) Department was transferred and posted as Financial Commissioner Revenue, relieving Bashir Ahmad Runiyal, Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Revenue Department, of the additional charge of the post. Agarwal shall also hold the charge of the post of Chairman J&K Special Tribunal in addition to his own duties.

Umang Narulla, IAS (JK: 1989) Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Industries and Commerce Department was transferred and posted as Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Forest Department vice Shant Manu.

Shant Manu, IAS (JK:1991) Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Forest Department, was transferred and posted as Commissioner/ Secretary to Government, Industries and Commerce Department, vice Umang Narula.

Bipul Pathak, IAS (JK:1992) awaiting orders of posting in the General Administration Department was posted as Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department, relieving Shaleen Kabra of the additional charge of the post.

Tanveer Jehan IAS (JK: 1995) Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department, was transferred and posted as Commissioner/ Secretary to Government, Public Works (R&B) Department vice K. B. Agarwal.

Dr Syed Mohammad Fazalullah, IAS (JK: 1995) Registrar Cooperative Societies, J&K, was transferred and posted as Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Cooperative Department, relieving Shaleen Kabra of the additional charge of the post.

Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, IAS (JK: 1997), Secretary to Government, Information Technology and Science & Technology Departments, was transferred and posted as Secretary to Government, Health and Medical Education Department, relieving Mrs Tanveer Jehan of the additional charge of the post.

Gazzanfer Hussain, IAS (JK: 1998), Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, J&K, was transferred and posted as Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department, vice Mrs Tanveer Jehan. With the Finance Minister being absent and quite a number of IAS officers lobbying for this post, nobody was appointed as Commissioner Commercial Taxes in today’s meeting.

Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari, IAS (JK: 1999), Secretary, J&K Public Service Commission was transferred and posted as Secretary to Government, Information Technology and Science & Technology Departments vice Manoj Kumar Dwivedi.

Meanwhile, In a separate Government order today, Mohammad Akram Malik, under orders of repatriation in the Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department, was posted as Managing Director, J&K Agro Industries Development Corporation, on deputation basis, with immediate effect relieving Director Agriculture Kashmir, Farooq Lone, of the additional charge of the post.

END

GOVERNMENT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT

(Services Section)

Civil Secretariat, Jammu/ Srinagar

Subject: - Transfers and Postings.

Ref: - Cabinet Decision No. 101/113/12012 Dated: 10.05.2012.

Government Order No: 502-GAD of 2012 Dated: 10.05.201 2

In the interest of administration, the following transfers

and postings are hereby ordered with immediate effect:-

1. Shri K. B. Agarwal, IAS (JK: 1985) Principal Secretary to Government Public Works IR&B) Department is transferred and posted as Financial Commissioner Revenue, relieving Shri B. A. Runiyal, Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Revenue Department of the additional charge of the post. He shall also hold the charge of the post of Chairman J&K Special Tribunal in addition to his own duties.

2. Shri Umang Narulla, IAS (JK: 1989) Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Industries and Commerce Department is transferred and posted as Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Forest Department vice Shri Shant Manu.

3. Shri Shant Manu, IAS (JK:1991) Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Forest Department, is transferred and posted as

Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Industries and Commerce Department, vice Shri Umang Narula.

4. Shri Bipul Pathak, IAS (JK:1992) awaiting orders of posting in the General Administration Department is posted as Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Animal and Sheep

Husbandry Department, relieving Shri Shaleen Kabra of the additional charge of the post.

5. Mrs Tanveer Jehan IAS (JK: 1995) Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Higher Education Department, is transferred and posted as Commissioner/ Secretary to Government, Public Works (R&B) Department vice Shri K. B. Agarwal.

6. Dr Syed Mohammad Fazalullah, IAS (JK: 1995) Registrar,

Cooperative Societies, J&K, is transferred and posted as Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Cooperative Department, relieving Shri Shaleen Kabra of the additional charge of the post.

7. Shri Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, IAS (JK: 1997) Secretary to

Government, Information Technology and Science & Technology

Departments, is transferred and posted as Secretary to

Government, Health and Medical Education Department, relieving Mrs Tanveer Jehan of the additional charge of the post.

8. Shri Gazzanfer Hussain, IAS (JK: 1998) Commissioner,

Commercial Taxes, J&K, is transferred and posted as Secretary to

Government, Higher Education Department, vice Mrs Tanveer

Jehan.

9. Shri Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari, IAS (JK: 1999) Secretary, J&K Public Service Commission is transferred and posted as Secretary to Government, Information Technology and Science & Technology Departments vice Shri Shri Manoj Kumar Dwivedi.

10. Shri Zaffar Ahmad, IAS (JK: 2001) Special Secretary, Hon'ble Chief Minister's Secretariat, is transferred and posted as Director Information, J&K vice Shri Farooq Ahmad Renzu, who will report to General Administration Department .

By order of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir

Sd/-

(Shelkh Mushtaq Ahmad) IAS

Secretary to Government

General Administration Department

Govt continues to protect its corrupt KAS, IAS darlings

Supreme Court order says no prosecution sanction required after 3 months but J&K Vigilance Organisation surrenders before Govt, fails to file chargesheets

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, May 9: In a demonstration of brazen disregard to Supreme Court of India judgment dated January 31^st, 2012, Government of Jammu and Kashmir as well as its integrity watchdog, State Vigilance Organisation (SVO), are continuing to protect a band of KAS and IAS officers against whom charges of corruption have been established. Retired and serving bureaucrats and officials, who are beneficiaries of the coalition government’s ‘Operation Cover up’, include former Chief Secretary Ashok Jaitley, then Principal Secretary of Power Development Department, Ajit Kumar, former Directors of Local Bodies in Jammu, Mohinder Singh and Avtar Krishen Raina, then Director of Rural Development Department and now MLC, Syed Asgar Ali, retired IAS officer and former Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, Mehboob Iqbal, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Baseer Khan, and a group of Block Development Officers (BDOs).

Earlier this year, SVO had explained in reply to a petition under RTI that as many as 62 corruption-related matters, involving KAS and IAS officers, had been filed in J&K from 01-01-2000 to 31-12-2011. SVO had said in the reply that out of these 62 FIRs, challan had been produced in 17 FIRs, 7 FIRs had been closed as not established while as sanction to the prosecution was awaited from the Government in 6 FIRs.

With the bureaucrats and politicians in J&K Government sleeping over the six particular high profile FIRs and the SVO expressing helplessness in absence of necessary sanction to the prosecution, Supreme Court of India delivered a significant judgment, enabling the investigation agency to proceed with the challan if the issue of sanction is not disposed within three months. Surprisingly, neither the Government has disposed SVO’s request for sanction to the prosecution of KAS and IAS officers nor has the SVO initiated prosecution in any of the six matters.

In the petition, titled Dr Subramanian Swami versus Dr Manmohan Singh and Others, Supreme Court’s Division Bench, comprising Mr Justice G S Singhvi and Mr Justice Aftab Alam, deliberated on the following issue:

“Whether a complaint can be filed by a citizen for prosecuting a public servant for an offence under Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA); and, whether the authority competent to sanction prosecution of a public servant for offences under the PCA is required to take an appropriate decision within the time specified in the direction contained in paragraph 58 of the judgment of the apex court in Vineet Narain versus Union of India”.

In operative part of its historic judgment on 31-01-2012, the DB said: “All proposals for sanction placed before any sanctioning authority empowered to grant sanction for the prosecution of a public servant under section 19 of Prevention of Corruption Act must be decided within a period of three months of the receipt of the proposal by the concerned authority”.

The judgment added: “Where consultation is required with the Attorney General or the Solicitor General of the Advocate General of the State, as the case may be, and the same is not possible within three months mentioned in clause ‘a’ above, an extension of one month period may be allowed but the request for consultation is to be sent in writing within three months mentioned above. A copy of the said request will be sent to the prosecuting agency or the private complainant to intimate them about extension of the time limit. At the end of the extended period of time limit if no decision is taken, sanctioned will be deemed to have been granted to the proposal for prosecution and the prosecuting agency or the private complainant will proceed to file the chargesheet/ complaint in the court to commence prosecution within 15 days of the expiry of aforementioned time limit”.

More surprisingly, sanctions to the prosecution of KAS and IAS officers in these six particular matters have been pending with Government from a minimum of one year to maximum of nine years. Departments of Law and General Administration, besides a number of departments related to the accused officials, have been conveniently sleeping over the SVO’s requests. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s much hyped “Year Against Corruption” in 2011 has failed to cut any ice. Bureaucrats dealing with these matters have been actually honoured, rewarded, publicly hailed and recommended for awards and prize postings.

Early Times made repeated attempts to know why SVO had not proceeded to file challans even after the Supreme Court of India judgment, dated 31-01-2012. However, Vigilance Commissioner, Mr P L Gupta, did not respond to phone calls in the last two days. Thereafter, ET sent a detailed questioner by e-mail to Mr Gupta and informed him by SMS about its submission. Still, there was no response from SVO on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Officials in Department of Law maintained that neither any sanction had been granted or denied nor had the Advocate General been approached for consultation in any of the six matters in the last three months.

Oldest of the six FIRs [FIR No: 29 of 2003 VOJ] is against retired IAS officers, Ashok Jaitley and Ajit Kumar, who functioned as Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary PDD in Dr Farooq Abdullah’s government in 1996-2002. Messers Jaitley and Kumar, according to FIR, had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Ravish Trehan of Trehan Industries Private Ltd Jammu. One Ashok Kumar, Assistant General Manager BHEL, now retired, by abuse of his official position bull-dozed his way in handing over power house Canal Road Jammu for generating electricity at exorbitant rates, thereby causing huge recurring loss to the state exchequer. However, according to some reports, the accused succeeded in getting relief orders from different courts in absence of sanction to their prosecution.

Second high profile FIR, awaiting sanction to prosecution, dates back to the year 2005. According to FIR No: 18 of 2005 VOK, then Director RDD Kashmir, Syed Asgar Ali, ACD Anantnag Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, BDO Qoimoh Kulgam, Zaffar Altaf, BDO Kulgam Mohammad Yousuf Ganie, BDO Dachnipora Abdul Hamid Wani and BDO Pohloo Mohammad Saleem Khanday, caused huge loss to the state exchequer by drawing fraudulently claimed payments on account of electrification of a large number of Panchayat Ghars in South Kashmir.

Third high profile case [FIR No: 8 of 2009 VOJ, relates to the infamous Gulmarg Land Scandal. Charges have been established in the FIR against three senior officials, namely Mehboob Iqbal (then Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir, who retired in November 2011), Baseer Khan (then DC Baramulla and currently DC Srinagar) and Farooq Ahmed Shah, then Additional DC in Baramulla. Interestingly, Mehboob Iqbal subsequently got more prize postings and retired as Commissioner Secretary Irrigation and PHE. Baseer Khan was inducted into IAS during Omar Abdullah’s government and posted on more sensitive positions like VC SDA and DC Srinagar.

The accused allegedly committed misuse of official position for illegal transfer of state land at Gulmarg worth by “misusing Roshni Act”. Even as J&K High Court denied them anticipatory bail, SVO never detained or arrested them. However, challan was completed and the sanction to prosecution is awaited since 2010.

FIR No: 21 of 2006 VOJ is registered against then Directors of Local Bodies Jammu, namely Mohinder Singh and Avtar Krishen Raina.

FIR No: 22 of 2009 VOJ stands registered against then CDPO Social Welfare Doda, Babu Ram, who allegedly made illegal appointments.

FIR No: 17 of 2010 VOK stands registered against then Joint Registrar Cooperative (Audit), Kashmir, Ghulam Hassan Wani. He is alleged to be owner of properties disproportionate to his known sources of income. In different communications to Government, SVO claimed to have established charges in all the six FIRs and sought mandatory sanction to the prosecution from competent authority. However, it has neither been granted nor denied within the time frame of three months as stipulated by Supreme Court.

END

Peace gave Budgam neither development nor rule of law
 
Residents want Azadi from rape of ecology, callous administrators; they won’t listen to Omar’s musings on AFSPA and NCTC
 
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
 
BUDGAM, May 7: Budgam has a history of loving peace and the insurgency has died its death in this Central Kashmir district as long back as in 1996. Parallel to Kupwara district, it ranked high in turnout of voters in all Assembly, Lok Sabha, Local Body and Panchayat elections in the last 14 years. High profile gunbattles, separatist demonstrations, and an incident of firing on the Muslims protesting desecration of holy Quran in USA, have proved to be aberrations and the masses in general have forgotten them like bad dreams.
 
So, it is not for nothing that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has chosen this Shia-dominated district headquarters as the first venue of his Durbar season public appearance on Tuesday. His schedules include inauguration of a power grid that has been already inaugurated four months back and has been functional since last year-end.
 
Notwithstanding the fact that the top icons of Kashmir’s separatist movement---Hizbul Mujahideen supremo Syed Salahuddin and Chairman of the radical faction of Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, included---have been residents of Budgam district, people in general here have been lukewarm to their political ideology and activism. Carved out of the capital district of Srinagar in 1979, Budgam has a slew of distinctions to its credit during the era of insurgency. It was the only district in Valley where counter-insurgent irregular militias were not allowed to raise their head post-1996.
 
Not that the separatist movement was weak. The most formidable guerrilla group, Hizbul Mujahideen, was floated here in a meeting of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders at Dooru-Sebdan in December 1989. It maintained its headquarters at Salahuddin’s Soibug village for over a decade. Historic million-strong rally in favour of Azadi and against the Indian “occupation” came out from here in March 1990. First MLA, Mir Mustafa, and Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University, Prof Mushirul Haq, were kidnapped and gunned down in this district.
 
After imposition of AFSPA with effect from July 5th, 1990, Valley’s first village---Adina, Watamagam---was burnt down to ashes in the same district. Devastation of the holy shrine of Sheikh-ul-Aalam Sheikh Nooruddin Noorani, that proved to be the proverbial last nail in the militancy’s coffin, happened here at Chrar-e-Sharief on May 11th, 1995. Massacre of Kashmiri Pandits took place here at Sangrampora village in March 1997.
However, the situation changed dramatically after devastation of Chrar-e-Sharief. Within years, Dr Farooq Abdullah’s government reconstructed the shrine and rehabilitated over 1,000 families whose houses had been razed to rubble. Years later, Budgam got the distinction of creating the Valley’s first rehabilitation settlement for the displaced KPs at Sheikhpora.
 
Since rapes and murders have not happened here for years, nobody seems interested in Omar Abdullah’s and Mehbooba Mufti’s rhetorical speeches on revocation of AFSPA. With nearly zero-presence of militants for over a decade now, nobody discusses NCTC in a passenger bus or a wayside restaurant. On the other hand, development, employment, better human resource and infrastructure at hospitals, safe drinking water, wider macadamized roads, electric supply of lesser interruption, safe power distribution system, more fertilizers, better education, preservation of ecology and a responsive administration invariably seem to be the dominating aspirations of masses irrespective of their political ideology.
 
Illegal brick kilns had sprouted like mushrooms during Farooq Abdullah’s, Mufti Sayeed’s and Ghulam Nabi Azad’s regimes. However, it was only in Omar Abdullah’s regime that Budgam achieved the dubious title of “Bathgam” (the village of brick kilns). Official statistics put the number at 100 but residents count 200 of such kilns that have been laid in brazen violation of all laws and rules, mostly on either side of major arteries. As many as 30 compoletely unauthorized and illegal kilns are operating today on either side of Budgam-Nasrullahpora-Beerwah Road. Thirty more exist on Budgam-Chadoura Road. Over 50 have been identified in Rakh Shalina belt.
 
While as over 1,000 tippers are estimated to be engaged with these brick kilns, over 2,000 more are believed to be working with nearly 100 JCBs. Most of these JCBs have denuded orchards, uprooted all kinds of protected trees and leveled lofty karewas. None of the Deputy Commissioners or Tesildars has asserted to regulate mushroom growth of brick kilns, tippers and JCBs in the last nearly 10 years. Hundreds of these clay-laden tippers do pass through the district headquarters daily, without any checking by the concerned authorities. This has led not only to high level of air pollution and emission of toxic gases but also to numerous road accidents at the district headquarters. Officers of various departments just taking bribes and facilitating the ecological vandalism has become an open secret in entire Budgam district.
 
Road connectivity is excellent in Chrar-e-Sharief and Khanmsahab constituencies but a sham in Budgam, Chadoura and Beerwah. Authorities have had no shame in choking development in Salahuddin’s Soibug area which has medieval surface communication. Worse is the condition of Soibug-Narbal and Soibug-Beerwah roads. Drinking water is a luxury in over 60% of the villages. Despite then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s and incumbent Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s serious instructions, PWD has failed to take up laying a link road between Sebdan and Pirbagh, via Narkara Numbal.
 
Going by the progress on construction of a hospital at Rishipora, former Chief Minister Azad is right in his complaint that the foundation stones he had laid in 2007 are still intact. It was Azad’s government that had decided to raise a major hospital at Rishipora, in periphery of Budgam town, in 2007. Residents of three villages donated 78 Kanals of land free of cost, Then Divisional Commissioner, Mehboob Iqbal, and then DC of Budgam, Farooq Reenzu, drove all the way to the site alongwith almost all District Officers five years back, took possession of the area and installed a board. Not a stone has been laid in the last five years.
 
With successive district administrations surrendering before undesirable elements, politicians and religious leaders of strong vested interest, Government has failed to implement its decision of shifting the old bus-stand to the newly acquired site for a bigger bus-stand at Budgam.
 
END

Omar Abdullah to start Kashmir campaign from Bathgam! 


On May 8th, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is planning to go for second inauguration of a power grid that has been functional since November 2011, as also to address his first public rally of Durbar season in Budgam. This under-developed Central Kashmir district is now known as Bathgam (the village of brick kilns) due to more than 200 unauthorised brick kilns. Nearly 25 of these highly polluting kilns are situated on either side of Budgam-Nasrullahpora-Beerwah Road and operating in brazen violation of over 12 laws of the land. 


Budgam has also the dubious distinction of being the only district headquarters where DCs permitted illegal operation of over 50 JCBs and plying of thousands of earth carrying tippers through the town, leading to unimaginable pollution and road accidents. Immediately after taking over charge of DC on temporary basis, Additional DC, Mohammad Akbar Ganai, has banned entry of tippers through town during day time and people in Budgam and all areas have widely appreciated it.


But bigger questions remain unanswered: Why have all DCs after Baseer Khan's transfer surrendered before the forces who stand exposed for using everything from politics to religion for making Crores of ill-gotten money? Why authorities have permitted devastation of karewas, including state land, by over a dozen JCBs in close vicinity of Budgam town? Why officials have failed to implement Govt decision of shifting old bus stand to the site of new bus stand for cheap appeasement of some individuals? Why there is neither a public park nor a vehicle parking at entire district headquarters?


Why officials in most of the offices at district headquarters have remain posted without transfer for 10 to 30 years and whenever shifted returned back within a year? 


Why no ring road or by-pass has not come up around the town despite huge traffic density at main town? 


Why there has been no follow up action, other than half-hearted acquisition of 3 Kanals of land for approach road, on construction of a hospital at Rishipora, Budgam, since July 2007 where Ghulam Nabi Azad wanted to lay a major hospital under PPP and people had voluntarily donated 78 Kanals of land? 


Why there is no connector between Bemina-Budgam and Hyderpora-Budgam Road, behind Rishipora Railway Station, three years after G M Saroori had started the process of two-lane link and released Rs 40 Lakhs as first installment? 


Who in Omar Abdullah's Govt is the road block in all these executions? CM needs to tweet.