Corruption ridden State to have fast track probe

It is as clear as day that Jammu and Kashmir State is corruption ridden and not only is corruption a type of working culture in most of the State departments but clear cut cases of corruption in the knowledge of the Chief Vigilance Commission and the Anti Corruption Bureau are not investigated by the appropriate authorities where they are referred to them for the obvious purpose . Not only this, even sanctions are not accorded for investigating and probing to enable starting of prosecutions against the corrupt officials. If the proverbial saying that the fencing of the field is itself ravaging the field, it would not be any exaggeration. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on his two day visit to the State must have got first hand information about the extent of the corruption having made deep inroads into the system. Accordingly, he has reacted to the alarm causing situation by saying that a war needed to be declared against the scourge. He has, therefore, asked the State administration that cases of blatant corruption by the influential ‘High and Mighty’ needed to be taken up with “fast track investigations”.
It is in the fitness of things to not only have investigations in known cases but to fast track the same. The administration and its entire apparatus, in order to see that the developmental projects were completed in time and the benefits reaped by the general public, fighting corruption within the system was paramount. The two important bodies in this connection were the State Vigilance Commission and the Anti Corruption Bureau. The Union Home Minister, perhaps, in know of the fact, that the Anti Corruption Bureau was more or less made weak if not ineffective, as most of its recommendations and reports are not responded to promptly and effectively by most of the Heads of the Departments and bureaucrats, has directed for strengthening the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB). In fact, the State Government must periodically come out with facts and figures as to how many detected cases of graft were made to reach the decisive points of prosecutions and that how many were convicted. A proper follow-up by the State Home Department and General Administration Department at each and every level, vis-a- vis handling of corruption cases by the ACB would go a long way towards ensuring that the organisation turned strong.
Not only have complaints of corruption been pouring in continuously at the Secretariat of the Governor but even the Central Government too is reported to be receiving them. Not because, for the last a few months only there has been spurt in such cases but there being Governor’s rule, complainants are doubly sure that some action at one or the other level was surely going to take place unlike under the elected Government. In this connection, the Home Minister also highlighted the importance of conducting ‘public hearing programmes’ where the aggrieved could register their problems for getting redressed and such regular events should be presided over by the Governor’s Advisors, Secretaries and Collectors so that in time bound manner, such grievances could be disposed of. Taking on the issue of imbalances in the development of the three regions of the State, the Union Minister stressed upon the need of ‘balanced’ development of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh. Noteworthy feature is that in deference to the Government’s national policy of inclusive approach towards all communities, the Union Minister called for such approach in the State to be strengthened in such a way that none felt neglected, whether border residents, SC/ST, migrants, socially and educationally backward areas and economically weaker sections of the society. Since the need of the hour for most of the State administration is to reading the writing on the wall, that the Home Minister talked on these lines were going to be properly monitored and action taken ensured, should result in changing of the mindset wherever it was required.

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