Rs 96 lakh collected for regularisation
of SSA employees; purportedly paid to ex-Commissioner Education, ex-Dir SSA
Governor’s
Advisor orders enquiry, matter being referred to Vigilance Organisation for
registration of FIR
Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
______
JAMMU, Mar 13: Governor’s Advisor incharge
Education, Parvez Dewan, has ordered a Departmental Enquiry into a serious
complaint of corruption, according to which, some contractual employees and
trade union leaders of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) have allegedly collected an
amount of Rs 96 lakh from the temporarily engaged officials for regularisation
of their services and a part of the collection has purportedly gone to the
former Commissioner-Secretary of Education Mrs Naseema Lankar and former
Project Director of SSA Khursheed Ahmad Rishi.
During a public hearing last week, a
delegation of the SSA contractual employees complained to Mr Dewan that three
particular contractual employees, who are also operating as ‘trade union
leaders’ of their organisation, Jammu and Kashmir Contractual Employees
Association, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (JKCEASSA), had collected an amount of Rs 96
lakh from the employees purportedly for ‘regularisation of services’. While as
the services of the complainant employees were not confirmed as per the
commitment made to them, the money was not returned to them either.
The complaint signed by Assistant Programmers
and Data Entry Operators claimed that the JKCEASSA President Mohammad Shafi
Peer, who is working as Steno/Typist on contractual basis in the SSA
Directorate, collected “Rs 35,000, Rs 40,000, Rs 45,000 per head” from almost
all contractual employees of SSA with the collaboration of contractual Machine
Operator Imtiyaz Ahmad Peer with the commitment that their services would be
regularised after the money would be paid to different officers and
bureaucrats.
Two more SSA officials, namely Mohammad Akbar
and Tariq Ahmad, who worked in the offices of Chief Education Officers of
Jammu, Baramulla and Kupwara, helped the Peer duo in collection of the
purported bribe money which, incredibly, was deposited in joint account of
Mohammad Shafi Peer and Arjun Singh in the Moving Branch of Civil Secretariat.
When services of the employees were not regularised and they demanded the money
back, Mohammad Shafi Peer and Imtiyaz Ahmad Peer told them that they had
already paid Rs 58 lakh of it to some officers. Thereupon the Peer duo demanded
fresh collection of Rs 58 lakh at the rate of Rs 35,000 from each potential
beneficiary.
“The trio spent the entire sum of Rs 96 lacs
on their personal benefits and on our constant insisting, they have demanded an
additional sum of Rs 35,000/ per employee in order to facilitate another kitty
of Rs 58.50 lacs paid to Secretary Education Mr. Neasma Lanker (sic.) who is
not now-a-days in service. She according to them left the service by leaving
sanctioning the aforesaid regularization case”, reads the complaint.
“Similarly during the year 2008-09, the above
two mentioned officials working in the (SSA) Directorate as a whole on
contractual basis for implementation of Order No: 215-Ujala of 2009 dated
15/10/2009. Out of Rs 7.00 lacs, 5.50 lacs was paid to Ex. State Project
Director namely Khursheed Ahmad Rishi. The same money that they collected was
deposited into Civil Secretariat Moving Branch of J&K Bank under Account
No: 0110040100018431, Joint Account of
Mr Shafi and Arjun Singh”, adds the complaint accessed by STATE TIMES.
The complainants urged Mr Dewan to help them
in returning the amount of Rs 96 lakh to the poor contractual employees and
also refer the matter for criminal cognizance, investigation and determination
of culpability to an investigating agency. They gave an undertaking that they
would provide documentary proofs and cooperate with the investigation agency.
However, according to highly placed
bureaucratic sources, Mr Dewan referred the complaint to Director School Education
Kashmir Dr Shah Faesal for a preliminary Departmental Enquiry before
registration of FIR by Vigilance Organisation. Mr Dewan did not respond to
phone calls when this newspaper attempted to learn why the matter of serious
nature, supported by signed receipts of the collections, had not been directly
referred to Vigilance Organisation that normally holds its own preliminary verification
before registration of FIR.
While Khursheed Ahmad Rishi was not
accessible by telephone, Mrs Naseema Lankar claimed that she had “absolutely no
knowledge” of this matter or the characters mentioned as the complainants or
those who had allegedly collected the money. “I have absolutely no idea of this
matter. There is no question of my having received any money”, she told STATE
TIMES. Both Mr Rishi and Mrs Lankar have retired from service.
Director School Education Kashmir Dr Shah
Faesal confirmed to have received this complaint from Advisor Parvez Dewan.
“I have been directed to conduct a
preliminary departmental enquiry. I am working on it. I am calling the
complainants and the accused for recording and scrutinising their statements. I
will accordingly submit my report to the Government”, Dr Faesal said. However,
top bureaucratic sources said that it was none of DSE’s business to hold any
enquiry as it was a matter of “serious criminal involvement that should have
been directly referred to Vigilance Organisation for PV and registration of FIR”.
“Yes, this is a matter of blatant extortion.
If established, I will refer it to Vigilance Organisation for criminal
determination and prosecution”, Dr Faesal asserted.
END
[Published in today’s State Times]
