IN LIGHTER VEIN

Advisor [R] solves FM’s problem of enhancing MLAs’ salaries
MLAs, MLCs declared eligible for taking contracts from Govt corporations

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 5: While giving his own clean chit to National Conference colleague, MLA and Chief Minister’s Advisor, Mr Mubarak Gul, in the matter of taking a work contract from Doordarshan, Chief Minister’s Political Advisor Mr Devender Singh Rana has relieved Finance Minister Abdul Rahim of a great anxiety days before producing the new financial year’s budget in the state Assembly. Even after Cabinet approval to a draft bill earlier this week, Mr Rather was reportedly in stress over the issue of hiking the monthly salaries of the legislators. With his statement that MLAs and MLCs were “not barred by law from doing trade and business with Government corporation”, Mr Rana has facilitated the way of allotting contracts of all state government corporations to MLAs and MLCs---first time in the history of democratic India.

Claiming to be quoting “Supreme Court judgments” and opinion of prominent lawyers of the country, Mr Rana had made it clear at his Thursday news conference that MLAs and MLAcs were not barred by code of conduct or any other law from taking contracts from “private and government corporations”. According to him, there would have been nothing wrong in MLA Mubarak Gul’s act of taken a work contract from Doordarshan. He pointed out that DD was not part of the Government and asserted that it was an organization of Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corporation of India.

Mr Rana’s ruling on the eligibility of all MLAs and MLCs in taking contracts with “Government corporations” has been exuberantly appreciated not only by the MLA in the dock but also all ruling and opposition legislators in the state. Sources today said that a large number of MLAs and MLCs today expressed their gratitude to Mr Rana for his historic judgment and also communicated to Finance Minister that they would no more insist on increasing their salaries.

Sources said that all MLAs and MLCs of the NC-Congress coalition, including Ministers, would be soon meeting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah with the demand that at least 80 percent of the contracts in Government corporations, particularly J&K State Power Development Corporation, J&K State Road Transport Corporation, J&K Cements Ltd, J&K Industries Ltd, J&K State Forest Corporation, J&K State Agro Industries Development Corporation and J&K State Tourist Development Corporation besides all Universities in J&K, both shrine boards and SKIMS Srinagar, should be reserved for them. Some of them have already approached Minister of Works, G M Saroori, with a similar demand in J&K Projects Construction Corporation but he has made it clear to them that JKPCC was actually itself a contractor of projects and it would require nothing but building material like bajri, sand and bricks.

Sources said that a group of MLAs and MLCs have also met Forest Minister, Mian Altaf Ahmed, and told him in plain terms that after Mr Rana’s eye-opening judgment they would not allow him to leave a single contract of extraction and carriage for non-VIP jungle thieves. According ton these sources, Mian Altaf asserted to the delegation that cameras must have “wrongly recorded” Mr Rana but they sweared that he had made the statement when two of their MLA colleagues were also present at the press conference.

Sources said that taking advantage of today’s off-day in Assembly, most of the MLAs and MLCs directed Chief Engineers to revalidate their contracts “within 24 hours” so that they could participate in filing of tenders with several Government corporation. Minister of Industries, Surjit Singh Salathia, has been approached by 15 MLAs and MLCs with the request that SICOP’s Managing Director be directed by way of a written order in the light of Mr Rana’s ruling that 80 percent of the supply orders be reserved for the honourable legislators. He pleaded that these orders actually come from Government departments to his SICOP but the MLAs argued that they would be drawing the contracts with a “Government Corporation” (SICOP) not any Government department.

Sources said that at least three of Srinagar-based MLAs have made telephonic calls to Director SKIMS, Dr Abdul Hamid Zargar, and Vice Chancellor of University of Kashmir, Prof Riyaz Punjabi, and conveyed their intention of taking at least 50 percent of the work orders as well as supply orders in the next financial year. After seeking opinion on the matter from Head of Department of Law, Prof Punjabi is said to have argued with Section 24-C of J&K Peoples Representation Act of 1957, that all MLAs and MLCs were barred and were liable to disqualification as members of legislature “if, and for so long as there subsists a contract entered into by him in the course of his trade or business with the Government for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any works undertaken by the Government” but the honourables MLAs argued that he should refer to the Act of 2010 not the only wrongly in force since 1957.

Sources said that on watching this enthusiasm among the ruling coalition legislators, a group of Opposition MLAs led by former contractor Abdul Rehman Veeri have conveyed to the Government that it should reserve a particular quota to Opposition MLAs or face consequences during the Budget session itself.

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