Javaid Naikoo
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Apr 2: Illegal appointments in the urban local bodies (ULBs) are alleged to have become a routine affair. In the state's most of the municipal committees, such appointments are alleged to have been made.
According to a report, the department had made more than 1,500 illegal appointments till 2011. Though probes were ordered into them, these made no headway as a result of which the numer of such appointees continued to increase with each passing year.
After a scam of illegal appointment surfaced in previous NC-Congress government in May 2013, State Accountability Commission (SAC) ordered an enquiry into the alleged role of then deputy chief minister Tara Chand in the illegal appointments in urban local bodies and accordingly a Division bench of the Commission, comprising chairman Justice (retd) Y P Nargotra and Justice (retd) Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain, directed for a regular enquiry into the allegations of misuse of official position by the deputy chief minister but like in most other cases the inquiry ordered reached nowhere.
In June, 2011Tara Chand himself chaired a meeting to discuss the recruitment scam and in the meeting then Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Suresh Kumar asked then Director, Local Bodies, Mohammad Afzal Bhat to attach a few Executive Officers but again as usual,the order was revoked on the interventions two top politicians who themselves had earlier directed executive officers to recruit their kith and kin, sources alleged.
The vigilance Organization too had many times sought details of employees in the municipal Committees of South Kashmir's Shopian, Pulwama, Anantnag and Kunzer,Ganderbal, Baramulla, Sopore,Tangmarg, Uri, Handwara, of central and North Kashmir. Probe orders were issued but so far no concrete actions had been taken against the guilty officials and people involved. While Tara Chand failed to take any action against the people and officials involved, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal singh yesterday wrote on his Facebook page that "In the last many days I came to know that many negative approaches were carried out in power, housing and urban development department in last many years, but things will change I will not let any corrupt practice to follow in these two departments, you will soon see changes, we will make system highly accountable, I am receiving complaints, suggestions of people and soon actions will be taken against corrupt official and corrupt practices, system will turn for people of Jammu and Kashmir."
Minister of state for industries and Commerce, power Development department and urban local bodies, Muhammad Ashraf Mir while talking to Early Times said that he will ask for List of people appointed illegally and seek details about other irregularities conducted over the years in Municipal committees and will act against the people involved. |
