HC seeks names of officials involved in PHE scam

Horticulture, Floriculture, Health Deptts penalized for non-compliance
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 22: High Court today sought details and particulars of official involved in Public Health Engineering multi crore scam and imposed penalty on various departments for not complying the court directions.
Hearing PIL with regard to much publicized multi-crore scam in PHE division Handwara in which various employees were found to be involved, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Alok Aradhe directed for submitting the details and particulars of those erring officials who are involved in the embezzlement.
It is after the Vigilance Organization Kashmir though Superintendent of Police in its report has submitted that prima facie the officials in PHE division Handwara have committed various irregularities and bungling in crores of rupees have taken place but the attention of Court has been drawn to the report of VOK wherein names of the erring officials have not been spelled out.
DB keeping in view of grave offence and embezzlement of public exchequer directed the investigation be concluded expeditiously and sought report regarding the particulars of officers involved in the crime before the Court by next date.
Court has imposed penalty of Rs 5000 each on departments of Horticulture, Floriculture, Fisheries, Pollution Control Board, Health Department as well as Geology and Mining for throwing the Court directions to winds.
These departments were earlier directed to submit the status report indicating therein the number and locations of all the toilets/latrines which have been identified on the banks of all nallahas, rivers, streams and tributaries which are source of drinking water for consumption of the inhabitants.
The suggestion submitted by petitioner counsel include that team of officers, from Departments of PHE, Health, Pollution Control Board, Fisheries and concerned District Administration be formulated to indicate the number and location of all the latrines existing on either of banks of all rivers, existing, streams and tributaries which are source of drinking water for consumption of the inhabitants of State.
Court had also directed for the steps which have been taken to remedy the pollution of the drinking water sources and responding to the suggestion made by the petitioner-counsel and also to render an explanation with regard to the contaminated drinking water within four weeks but these departments have failed to submit therein reports, prompting the court today to impose costs of Rs 5000 on each department which the court said to be deposited into advocates welfare fund.
State counsel B A Dar informed the Court that challan against the erring officials involved in the scam is pending before the Court of Special Court Anti Corruption Baramulla. On asking about the progress of trial in the case, the State counsel could not inform the Court about the same as no report in this regard was submitted by him.
Court has also sought the status of prosecution against the PHE officials involved in the scam as also the status of challan filed against the erring officials before the court of Anti Corruption Baramulla.
Court on August 29 had directed that in case the challan has been submitted before the Court of law, then the progress and stage of the said challan be also submitted to the court.
Public Health Engineering Department is also supposed to apprise the court about the process and details of disciplinary action taken against the erring officials of the department who were involved into scam.
FIR in the scam has been registered in Police Station Handwara after the scam surfaced in PHE department of Handwara Division way back in 2014 and immediately a PIL was filed by Javed Zargar before the Court seeking probe into the scam and brought the erring officials under book.
The drinking water scheme in Handwara division was carried under National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) but the amount which was to be incurred on the said scheme has been embezzled by the officials of PHE department due to which the projected has not been completed and today extending the scope of the PIL Court directed for appraisal of other water schemes in the Valley from the CE.
It may be mentioned here that approximately Rs 45 crores has been swindled and the said money was meant for the scheme launched under NRDWP to provide the drinking water to the people of district Handwara and its adjoining hilly areas.

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