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COVER STORY

BY: ADEETI VERMA

 

 

The Beating Retreat!

If Azad remembers, he was advised by his well wishers that he should not stir the hornet’s nest before erecting a solid forte and a strong contingent of loyal, dedicated and honest soldiers to keep him safe from the expected attack from the powerful corrupt. But instead of reading the writing on the wall he threw the sincere suggestions in the nearby dust bin and alone came out in the open to attack the camouflaged enemy.

      Azad and Peerzada

When Ghulam Nabi Azad joined as Chief Minister of the State, people of Jammu felt elated because he was the first ever Chief Minister from this region. People of Valley however were cynical about this development believing that it was only a Kashmiri who had the right to rule the State. So they would publicly express their anguish and claim that they would not let a Gujjar from Jammu rule them ignorant of the fact that Azad is one amongst them whose forefathers belonging to Bhat clan of Kashmiri Muslims, not much ago  had migrated to Bhallesa a remote hilly area in Jammu region. They also had declared that a time will come when Azad will wind up from the Valley and look back only after crossing Banihal Tunnel. It seems that time has come. Today having failed on all fronts the overenthusiastic leader from Jammu is contemplating to wind up his luggage and looking for an escape route to leave the State and do politics in New Delhi believing that political atmosphere was more conducive for him at national level rather than in his own state. During his two year long stint in CM’s chair Azad has earned more enemies than friends and this happened because his moves were immature. His war against corruption has been derailed; his crusade against the land Mafia has boomeranged; his slogans of work culture and double shift have proved hoax; his assurances of providing a clean and transparent administration have  fallen short and his claims to make politics clean have fallen flat.

 It is not that he has not done anything to improve the image of the State that has been adjudged as second most corrupt states of the country after Bihar, but the results of his efforts could not be on expected lines. He gave legal teeth to the State Vigilance Organization by passing a law in the State Assembly. He also made it possible to book considerable number of senior officers of the state administration by the SVO for acquiring assets beyond their known source of income. Credit also goes to him for getting confiscated the ill gotten properties by these unscrupulous officers. Even then the anti-corruption drive has failed to create the desired impact. On the contrary, corruption continues unhindered with the only difference that its rates have been enhanced.

Despite himself working for eighteen hours a day the CM has failed to improve work culture in the offices. Files hardly move and if they move they move at more tardy speed than earlier. Condition of essential services like water supply, power supply and hospitals has deterio-rated to the lowest ebb forcing people to come out on the roads in protest braving scorching heat of the afternoons. Condition of roads and traffic upon them are also in a bad shape. Despite upgrading the status of schools and colleges the infra- structure remains the same thereby making mockery of the up gradation. Transfers continue to remain a lucrative industry and despite CM’s resolve to abandon policy of attachment most of the teachers in far flung areas remain attached in towns by sharing their salaries with their officers.

Whereas the government does not have funds for enhancing the salaries of Rehber-e-Taleem, Rehber-e-Zarat, Rehber-e-Sehat and the daily wagers working at mere fifteen hundred a month, crores of Rupees are being spent on renovation of official residences of ministers, bureaucrats, officers and legislators besides enhancing their salaries and perks multi folds. Unemployment is touching all time high compelling educated youth to attempt suicide, but CM’s expansive helicopter trips in the name of reaching to people in far flung areas are not coming to a halt. His actions have disappointed and annoyed everybody except few outside contractors who have been entrusted the construction of various projects including roads, buildings and bridges unmindful of the fact that it has snatched from locals their livelihood.

Everybody had rallied round Azad when two years ago he declared war against corruption terming it more dangerous than militancy, but the enthusiasm of a common man began falling when the authority of State Accountability Commission headed by Justice RP Sethi was diluted by adding two more hand picked members to the one man Body. This was done to save some of his ministerial colleagues from imminent punishment at the hands of the Commission. Even today complaints in shape of FIRs registered with State Vigilance Commission against some ministers and top bureaucrats are gathering dust.

Omar’s Accusations

NC Chief Omar Abdullah has described Azad as the most expansive chief  minister. Quoting instances the NC  leader says that the CM has spent over eight crores on the renovation of his residence at Srinagar and is buying a     helicopter worth 22 crores out of State exchequer. The observations of the NC leader are significant particularly in light of the fact that when the CM complains about shortage of funds for enhancing salaries of protesting  daily

wagers and other low paid employees  what is the logic behind  spending huge amounts of money on schemes that will provide comfort to just one individual?

Understanding that swimming in the shallow brooks in the State is tough Azad has been contemplating to return to the Indian Ocean where he continued swimming for over fifty years. But before returning he wants to hand-over the baton of power to Farooq Abdullah. It was in this backdrop that he has been offending Muftis on frivolous issues so that in anger they resign from the government paving way for Abdullahs to enter. His recent action against Qazi Afzal speaks volumes about Azad brimming with love for Abdullahs. By forcing Qazi Afzal to resign from ministry Azad is trying to help NC leadership directly because this would render powerless the PDP leader who had defeated the NC’s CM candidate in the last Assembly elections. But to his ill luck his personal agenda has been preempted by Congress high command that wants to take PDP along in all circumstances. Even in Qazi’s case Azad came under pressure from the party high command to withdraw his decision of divesting the PDP minister of his portfolio exposing him in the eyes of public as the weakest Chief Minister the State has ever seen. Whether Azad succeeds to install Abdullahs or not his own days in the State seem numbered. Despite having high connections in the corridors of power at the national capital Azad may find it difficult to resist the wish of the party high command that wants to swim in Jehlum in the company of Muftis.


Afzal’s Assertions

If read between lines the letter shot off  to the CM by the then Forest minister, Qazi Mohammed Afzal whose portfolio         

has been retained by the chief minister  ‘to clear the mess in it’ one feels            compelled to believe that it was the CM himself who was responsible for the  ‘mess’. The way  CM has been bringing  firms  from outside the State for doing construction works here it cannot be  ruled out that the Delhi based  Corporate
 House putting pressure on Qazi for clearing the file pertaining to the scandalous amusement park also had CM’s blessings and that it was probably to help them the CM had taken ‘temporary’ control of the concerned department. What ever the  truth, the CM will have to do lot of  sweating to satisfy a common man about his innocence particularly in light of his weakness for outside contractors.


If he remembers, Azad was advised by his well wishers that he should not stir the hornet’s nest before erecting a solid forte and a strong contingent of loyal, dedicated and honest soldiers to keep him safe from the expected attack from the powerful corrupt. But instead of reading the writing on the wall he threw the sincere suggestions in the nearby dust bin and alone came out in the open to attack the camouflaged enemy. Today he is reaping crop of blunders he had sown two years ago. He is under attack from every side and he has no shelter to hide behind. His coalition partners are gunning for his head, his so called friends are scheming against him and his own party colleagues are in league with his enemies. 

Azad is not a small man. He may be taken back to Delhi and even accommodated in the Ministry, but it would shock his well wishers who know that the grace that he was enjoying only a couple of years ago would be missing in him, now.

 

 

Why war against corruption failed?

BY: VINEET CHOUDHARY


            AZAD

Despite the State Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad having launched a crusade against corruption, which he considers more lethal than the ongoing militancy, the sacred drive has virtually failed. Officers are being booked; officials are being booked and everyone who has something against him is being booked by the State Vigilance Organization, still the ghost of corruption seems haunting our system of which the recent statement of Mustafa Azad claiming that bungling in State Forest Corporation was rampant is a glaring proof. Obviously, Mustafa Azad is not Mustafa Kamal (younger brother of Farooq Abdullah) who being an opposition leader can level all sorts of charges against the CM. Since Mustafa Azad is the younger brother of CM what he said must be accepted as truth far away from any kind of bias. Azad’s crusade against corruption is on for past two years, but without creating the desired fear psychosis. The corrupt instead, have become bolder. Why?

The answer is simple! The nexus between Ministers, bureaucrats and businessmen has become so strong that nothing bothers them. Ministers need money for elections; they need money for their families whose living standard has enormously enhanced and they need money for their ‘bosses’ to keep them in the ministry in future also. There are some creamy posts in the State administration where officers can make huge fortunes. For occupying these ‘minting machines’ bureaucrats pay exorbitantly to the Ministers who use their influence to ensure that the former get postings of their choice. The process does not end here. Similar deals are done between the bureaucrats and officers under them and the vicious cycle moves on.

I know about an officer who paid ten lakh rupees for a particular posting. After some time son of his godfather approached him and demanded ‘kharcha’ on monthly basis. The system continued for some months then there was demand ‘hafta’. Irked by the increasing demand the officer flatly refused. The result was that he was transferred to some unimportant post and in his place was posted yet another man of ‘integrity’. This is not a solitary case of such nature. It in fact is one link of an unending chain where Ministers fleece their officers; officers fleece their subordinates and subordinates fleece the public. Obviously when Ministers, bureaucrats, and subordinates give and take bribe how can they stop others from indulging in the dirty business and how can we expect that corruption will end? Corruption has entered so deep in our system that it cannot end even if the corrupt are hanged because corruption is not an individual it in fact is a vicious system to end which the system itself demands overhauling.

Elections no doubt offer breeding ground for corruption. Politicians need huge amount of money for securing party tickets; they need money for running effective election campaign; they need money to become Ministers and they need money to get creamy portfolios and this money can be got either by looting public funds or fleecing the public directly. But elections alone are not responsible for the gloomy situation that the nation is finding itself in. Obviously, politicians alone are not indulged in corrupt practice. Those who have nothing to do with elections too are neck deep involved in the dirty game. Human greed has increased to the extent that more you earn more your appetite for money grows. Therefore, besides revolutionizing the electoral system stringent measures against corrupt will have to be ensured. CM’s initiative is appreciable, but without a sting. Obviously when ministers around him are involved in scams of sorts; when they are known for having amassed huge amounts of money; when his team of trusted officers are facing charges of embezzlement how can his efforts be seen as sincere?

There is an old saying that if you want people not to smoke you must yourself stop smoking and in case of Azad people on his right and left are considered as dead smokers. As long as Azad does not change his company he will also be known as a smoker and his all sermons not to smoke will fall flat. After two years in the office the Chief Minister should have understood that people have not become DC’s, Div. Coms., heads of departments; secretaries and commissioners because of their worth, but they have occupied the powerful positions because they have ‘ nasty’ equations with their godfathers in the Cabinet that he heads. Had this not been the case those against whom cases of embezzlement worth crores of rupees are pending should not have occupied big positions where instead of spearheading CM’s honesty drive they can shield themselves and their men more effectively. What the CM thinks he alone knows, but for a common man it is an administration about whom saying, ‘Sayan Bhaye Kutwal Ab Dar Kahe Ka’ would be the best simile.

 

 

INTERVIEW

Dr. Ashok Bhan Vigilance Commissioner, Jammu &Kashmir

 

“..no scope of being biased...”

Hailing from Haba Kadal near Raghunath Mandir Srinagar, Dr. Ashok Bhan received basic education from Mission School Fateh Kadal, Srinagar. But his father, Triloki Nath Bhan being a Captain in Indian Army moving from one place to another in connection with his posting the young Bhan too had to change schools and colleges accordingly. As a consequence Ashok Bhan passed his graduation from Punjab University and did his MSc. and Doctorate from Kurukshetra University. Initially he joined Indian Forest Services, but soon shifted to Police where ascending the ladder of success he has become Additional Director General in charge of the prestigious State Vigilance Organization. Advocate Jahangir Ahmed interviewed him on CM’s war against corruption. Excerpts:

 

It is regretting that a Delhi based N.G.O has adjudged the State as second most corrupt states of the country. Comment!

Like everybody in the State I also feel ashamed after this report.

 

What did your department do to deal with this menace two years after publishing of this survey?

We have initiated some concrete steps to improve our image on this count. Initially we organised seminars to make people aware about dangers of corruption seeking their support. Luckily people have begun responding positively and helping us in our fight against this dragon.

 

Can you list some achievements?

During past 2 years 155 traps were laid in which 90% challans were produced in the competent courts. This will demoralizes the corrupt and other anti-social element.

 

In most trap cases only those involved in cases of corruption amounting to less than Rs. 5000 have been caught. What about those sharks that have devoured crores of Rupees and have not been touched?

Technically speaking, there are three categories of people involved in cases of corruption. They are:  Top officials, middle rung officers and low level officials. In case of upper level officers, concrete information about their involvement is not easily confirmed whereas in case of middle or low rung officials people are happily ready to come forward with their complaints and relevant facts. It is actually this reason that mostly low rung officials fall in the traps and face the trial.

 

During past few years it has so happened that cases of corruption have been initiated against officers after their retirement, why?

It is due to unnecessary delay in investigation and delay in obtaining sanctions from the government to initiate a case. Now the rules have been simplified and we will get sanction within one year for producing challan in the competent court.

 

But there are reasons to believe that a nexus exists between the corrupt and officials of Vigilance Organisation and that the Vigilance Organisation deliberately gives time to the corrupt people for amassing properties worth crores of   Rupees, comment?

The charges are baseless. Our cops swing into action as soon as they receive a complaint.

 

The victims of VO mostly are Engineers. Does this mean that others are honest?

Major portion of the state budget is spent through engineering departments. Since they are involved in construction works they can be easily caught by checking the quality and specification of works executed by them. In case of others it needs someone who could come forward with a specific complaint and relevant proof to prove his complaint, which is not easy. Let me assure you that my organization is determined to take action against anybody howsoever powerful he might be if we get public support believing that nobody is above law.

 

Recently, a senior minister of the coalition government has charged your organisation of adopting biased attitude towards a particular region. What is your reaction?

Let it be clear to all that we are bound by certain rules and regulations that do not allow anybody to behave in a biased manner. Hence there is no question of adopting any sort of biased approach.