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| Claiming to expose scandals in Wakf Board, | | NC Govt replies PDP’s 2004 MAT adventure | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
Srinagar, July 2: Amidst seething tension in Kashmir, the government has unearthed a scandal to take on the opposition Peoples Democratic Party which has been making the going tough for ruling coalition in Kashmir.
In a classic of turning tables, the government has said that it has unearthed financial scam and other irregularities in the Muslim Wakf Board of which the Chief Minister is the chairman. The scandal period is claimed to be last six years when Peoples Democratic Party-Congress coalition was ruling in J&K.
Interestingly this is exactly what the PDP led government had said about National Conference in 2004. It may be recalled here that the Muslim Auqaf Trust, which was rechristened as Muslif Wakf Board in 2004, remained a symbol of political power of the National Conference and particularly the Abdullah family. However, in October 2004, the PDP led government, in a ‘bloodless coup’ took over the Muslim Auqaf Trust and made it an organisation under direct monitoring and accountability of the state government.
Corruption, nepotism, financial scams and complete loss of purpose were cited as reasons by the then Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain while announcing the decision of take over of Muslim Auqaf Trust and various institutions/properties run by it including Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences. The National Conference government now appears to have replied the PDP action with an equal retaliation.
An official spokesman said that the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the Chairman of Muslim Wakf Board, today constituted an in-house Committee to look into the irregularities and mismanagement committed by the Board during last six years. The Chief Minister, while chairing the first meeting of the newly-constituted Wakf Board here this morning, gave this direction when the status report of the functioning of the last Board was reviewed in the meeting The status report revealed large-scale irregularities and mismanagement in the functioning of the last Board. Mr. Abdullah asked the Committee to present the report with its recommendations within a period of 15 days so that a whitepaper for the information of legislators and general public is issued accordingly.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance, Mr. Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Rural Development, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar, Vice Chairman, Muslim Wakf Board, Mr. M. Y. Qadri and Members of the Board, Maulana Riyaz Ahmad Hamdani, Maulana Showkat Hussain Keng, Mr. Ghulam Mohiddin Mattoo, Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, Dr. Mehrajuddin, Mrs. Nusrat Andrabi and Mr. Ahsan Ahmad Mirza.
The meeting was informed that among so many other irregularities, important records of the Board are missing. It was also informed that the number of employees of the Board has been more than doubled raising the wage bill of the Board employees to Rs. 6 crore from Rs. 2 crore. Various works have been started without proper tendering and expenditures have been made without approval, the meeting was informed. Fixed deposits with the banks running into crores of rupees were withdrawn without any sanction of the Board and the utilization of the money remains unexplained. Safes worth lakhs of rupees were purchased which now lie in storage as there was no requirement for these. Purchases were made without transparency and it appears to have been done to benefit a handful of vested interests at the cost of the ziarats and devotees.
It was also revealed in the meeting that since the time of conversion of Muslim Aquaf Trust into the Muslim Wakf Board, the last Board had virtually turned its functioning into a government department. It was added that Muslim Auqaf Trust constituted with the objective of maintaining, preserving and upgrading mosques, shrines and other Wakf properties besides rendering service to the Muslims, has lost its goal.
The meeting was informed that no care for Shariat law has been taken while making irrational and uncalled for expenditures and that too without any approval. The records of expenditures and Board decisions are missing, the meeting was told.
It was further informed that Wakf funds have been diverted for non-Wakf activities and even spent on the construction of roads.
The Chief Minister called for rendering selfless service to maintain, preserve and upgrade the shrines and Wakf property in the State. While reviewing the beautification of surroundings of shrines and the construction works, he directed for formulating a project for the Ziarat Peer Dastageer Saheb (RA) Khanyar, adding that the experience of those who have visited Baghdad-e-Sharief could be utilized for the preparation of the project.
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