Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Jan 17: Tall claims of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) to initiate a transparent probe in scams that had surfaced in Housing and Urban Development during the erstwhile NC-Cong regime proved to be a "big hoax" during their 9-month stint in the power.
It's in place to mention here that many scams had surfaced in the Housing and Urban Development Department and many probes were ordered during the NC-Congress regime in the state.
The BJP leaders had taken the Congress leaders head on for their alleged involvement in these scams and had promised people if party comes into power it would bring the culprits to book.
After the PDP-BJP formed the coalition government in the state there was no word from its ministers on the probes which had surfaced during the previous regime.
Several illegal appointment rackets had surfaced in Municipal committees during the erstwhile NC-Cong regime following which probes were ordered but these remained confined to papers only as no action was taken against the people who were involved in these rackets. "Most of the illegal appointees were kith and kin of politicians and bureaucrats," sources claimed.
"After coming into power, the BJP forgot its promise to hold fresh probe in these scams. The party tried to gain the political mileage in elections but failed to act on any of the inquiry reports when it could have acted," claimed an official.
Pertinently, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also admitted in the Assembly in 2012 that illegal appointments and illegal regularization of employees had taken place in HUDD.
Sources said two high level inquiry committees had submitted their report in 2012 to the government and found around 2000 illegal appointments and fund embezzlements worth crores of rupees in the department. The inquiry teams had recommended disengagement of illegal appointees. "But no action was taken and these reports are gathering dust in the GAD," an official said.
Sources said the State Accountability Commission had also ordered an enquiry into the alleged role of former Congress minister in the illegal appointments in urban local bodies. However, sources said no action was taken against the minister.
The State Vigilance Organization had also registered a case about the illegal appointments in Municipal committees in Bandipora, Sumbal, Hajin, Baramulla, Sopore, Kunzer, Tangmarg, Wattergam, Pattan, Uri, Handwara, Kupwara, Langate.
In 2015, a large-scale illegal appointment racket was unearthed in the Municipality Committee Sopore following which a departmental enquiry was ordered but sources said the enquiry report file is gathering dust.
|
