Corruption in J&K

Some are guilty till proved innocent, some are innocent till proved guilty!

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 23: On occasion of the oath-taking of J&K State Accountability Commission (SAC) Chairman, Justice retd Y P Nargotra, and Member, Justice Retd Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain, the other day at Raj Bhawan, Governor N N Vohra broke a tradition. He chose to deliver a speech---to make it clear that he was concerned, like millions of the state subjects, over the non-seriousness successive governments have maintained to eradicate corruption. Governor laid stress on the immediate need of appointment of the constitutional functionaries and staff in SAC, State Vigilance Commission (SVC) and State Information Commission (SIC).

Unlike in the UPA Government’s Bill on Lok Pal, head of the government (Chief Minister) in Jammu & Kashmir is very much liable to trial in a matter of alleged corruption under the law made nine years ago. In 2002, it didn’t take long to realize that Law Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig’s tantrums over accountability of public men (politicians) were not to be for practice. Then in opposition, National Conference (NC) came forward with its unconditional support to the ‘revolutionary’ legislation. What was translucently communicated to Mufti Sayeed’s government, had not been imagined by the debutants of governance: “If you use it against us today, we will use it against you tomorrow’.

The SAC Bill was passed in days. Commission was not constituted for years, until men like Ali Mohammad Sagar began publicly taunting the PDP regime with “hollow browbeating”. And when Justice retd R P Sethi was finally appointed as the first Chairperson of SAC, he was not allowed to function even for a year. There was amendment after amendment but never the implementation for more than eight years.

NC-led coalition demonstrated the best of its reciprocity. None of the former Ministers, who were exuberantly threatened by Omar Abdullah’s firebrands, was taken to the dock in the last 31 months. NC and PDP asserted for respective favourites in the selection committee meeting last month. Most of the analysts believe this was needless. They feel neither Justice Kakroo nor Justice Khan or Nazki would have run amuck over the politicians in absence of an highly unexpected signal from the top of the government and the opposition.

If participants of the meeting are to be believed, political members from the government defended appointment of only one member with the argument that, after bifurcation of matters between SVC and SAC, the commission would have to deal “just a few cases”. “Unnecessary burden on state exchequer” was offered as another argument. Governor’s unscheduled speech at the swearing-in must have served as a snub for these selectors.

Even before SVC was constituted in March this year, one of the Cabinet Ministers almost warned State Vigilance Commissioner, P L Gupta, against proceeding with the prosecution of the characters of infamous Gulmarg Roshi Scam. Result of the Minister’s letter, coupled by intervention of more than six other Ministers and two former Chief Ministers, is that the case was challaned without an arrest. Not one of the accused was touched even as J&K High Court dismissed their anticipatory bail applications. All the accused continue to retain prize postings. One of them was temporarily removed in a differ matter for few months but his dignity was restored with his appointment in another sensitive department. Minister incharge happens to be his close relative. And the appointment came brazenly in the midst of the Budget session.

So, when MD of J&K Housing Board, Dileep Thusoo, became the first high profile target of State Vigilance Organisation in the Chief Minister’s “Year Against Corruption”, there were no ripples. According to the SVO press release, raids were conducted on several of MD’s houses in J&K, Delhi and other states but the investigation remained restricted to “irregularities” committed in allotment and execution of a bridge in Doda. SVO did not explain why a matter of “disproportionate assets” was not registered against the owner of multiple properties.

Ask anybody in the government why there was not even an attachment, let alone arrest and suspension in these cases, pat will come the reply: “Everybody is innocent till proved guilty”. Ask them why matters against senior officials of SKUAST (J) were dropped even after VC had previously communicated sanction to their prosecution to the Law Department. “Government has its prerogatives”, one would tell you with a smile. And, why an established matter was dropped against a Minister of Gul Shah’s regime who is still a Minister? “Many of the witnesses have either retired or passed away” is the answer recorded in the SVO Ikhtitami.

Scores of the privileged lot have got grade promotions and other elevations even without so-called ‘vigilance clearance’. They figure prominently in the group of nearly a score of the officials, recommended for and inducted into IAS, earlier this month.

A simple application under RTI would make it clear that scores of officials, not enjoying any political or bureaucratic clout, were arrested and jailed for months until they managed to get bail even in matters created on flimsy grounds. Seizure memos made by SVO sleuths mention “khattamband ceiling in one room”, “Maruti-800 car” and even “one two-band transistor”. Scores of this persecuted lot have been subjected to untold miseries, placed under suspension, attached to administrative department, removed to “non sensitive” postings. People from SVO to Law Department to GAD burn midnight oil to fleece these endangered species of the government. “You show me the face, I’ll show you the rule” is a cliché phrase in Civil Secretariat.

“Web don’t need an Anna Hazare. We need a General Musharraf to strike on corruption in Jammu and Kashmir” seems to be the aspiration of an ordinary Kashmiri today.

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