news details |
|
|
| Close aides of SDM Pahalgam sold 1500 permissions, allege tent owners | | Corruption scam hits ongoing Amarnath Yatra | | Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
Anantnag, July 31: A mega corruption scam related to ongoing Amaranth Yatra has surfaced in the office of Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pahalgam-the nodal agency for issuing permissions to tent owners.
Highly placed sources told Early Times that hundreds of tent owners, camping at three base camps-Nunwan, Sheshnag and Panjtarni- have acquired permissions for over 1500 tents from Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pahalgam allegedly after paying huge amount as bribe.
They said that permission for installing a tent at the base camp was being issued only after the tent owner was paying amount to clerks believed to be close aides of Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pahalgam.
"They (Clerks) were charging Rs 5000 to 7000 for each permit," a tent owner, who also claims to have paid a huge amount to them, told Early Times, pleading anonymity.
"An employee approached me and asked me to pay Rs 21000 for three tents, however later when I sensed that permissions will not be issued in my favor, I paid only 15000 to them," he added.
Sources said that true copies of the permission book and even scanned copies of the permission were sold to tent owners while as many permissions copies were signed by clerks instead of SDM Pahalgam.
They said that permissions to those who greased their palms were distributed in hotel and Mandir. A video shot by one of the beneficiary at Sarbal Shrine, available with Early Times shows blue-eyed clerks boarding the official Vehicle at the spot and tent owners abusing them for not issuing them permissions.
Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, President Sheshsnag Tent Traders Association alleged that two close associates and four agents collected money from the poor tent owners, who they deliberately dropped.
At Sheshsnag, only 850 including 50 shops were to be allowed by the authorities but surprisingly there are over 1400 tents. Similarly at Panjtarni and Nunwan base camps hundreds of tents were given permissions beyond the allotted quota.
Sources identified the revenue officers who took money from tent owners as Susheel Pandit and Fayaz Ahmad a resident of Mattan. Both are working as clerks in the office of Sub-Divisional Magistrate Pahalgam. Four others were identified as Ghulam Hassan Rather- Mohd Shafie Wagay residents of Hachanoora Aishmuqam, Ab Rashid Sheikh resident of Freslan, Nazir Ahmad Sheikh resident of Laripora Pahalgam. all of them working as agents for Revenue department, alleged sources.
Fayaz Ahmad questioned distribution of permits in hotels and religious places that too during night hours. He also questioned the SDM for not publishing the final list of Police department.
This year, he said, around seventeen thousand people applied for passes but most of the deserving, who didn't pay hefty amount to revenue officials, were left out.
SDM Pahalgam, while admitting to have distributed permissions inside hotels and religious places, justified saying, "They didn't allow us to work at office so we distributed inside a hotel and a temple in Pahalgam." SDM rejected corruption charges against his office. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
