Major faux pas on handing over Rs 40.63 cr loan default case of J&K Housing Corp to ACB

UT Govt withdraws order within an hour

Gopal Sharma
JAMMU, Sept 5: In yet another major faux pas, the Government of Union Territory today withdrew the order on handing over the much publicized Rs 40.63 crore loan default case of J&K Housing Corporation to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) within an hour of its issuance.
A Government spokesman of the J&K UT said that taking serious note of irregularities in functioning of the J&K Housing Corporation, the Government in a significant decision has come up with a number of measures today aimed at streamlining the organization. The decision comes in the backdrop of a default on Rs 40.63 crore loan by the J&K Housing Corporation to HUDCO, wherein, the Government stood as guarantor.
It was decided to get the case examined in detail so as to bring to the fore terms and conditions under which a guarantee was given, fix the responsibility on the people concerned and hand over the case to the Anti Corruption Bureau. But interestingly, taking a U-turn, the LG-Administration within an hour , withdrew the order, raising suspicion in the mind of the people of J&K on the credibility of the Govt functioning.
It is pertinent to mention here that on May 5, 2020 the UT Government had issued order about the appointment of top bureaucrat and former J&K Chief Secretary, BR Sharma, as Chairman of the J&K Public Service Commission but the order was withdrawn within a few hours, raising question mark on the Government functioning and the credibility of its decisions.
Not only this, on yet another occasion, the J&K UT Government on April 22, 2020 announced its decision to cancel Shri Amarnath Ji annual yatra, but within minutes, this order was also withdrawn, making mockery of the Government decisions.
The utter confusion on the part of some officials of Directorate of Information, J&K was gauged with the fact that they issued press release No. PR/DI/20/1467 with regard to Government decision of handing over the Rs 40.63 cr loan default case of J&K Housing Corporation to the ACB. In its another press release No. PR/DI/20/1469 it informed about the decision of the Government to withdraw the said order on probe by ACB. But interestingly, the department issued yet another press release No. PR/DI/20/1472 with regard to the decision of the Government to get the same case of J&K Housing Corporation case to be investigated by the ACB.
It further stated that the default on a portion of loan to HUDCO by the Corporation has led HUDCO to blacklist the Government and a consequence of which HUDCO will not fund any other project in J&K till the matter is settled.
Considering that the Government has 70% holding in the capital of the organization, steps are being taken to secure control over the Corporation to ensure that it is run in a fiscally prudent manner maintaining high standards of propriety, the Government handout said.
“With the aim to have complete oversight of the Government over the functioning of the organization and to run the organization in a professional manner, it has been decided to bring in necessary amendments to Article of Association (AoA) or By-Laws of the Cooperative,” the release said.
Further, HUDCO will be approached for one time settlement of dues, while exploring the possibility of an appropriate moratorium, preferably without bringing any liability to the Government.
Besides, the entire matter will be thoroughly investigated by the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) to pinpoint any criminal misconduct which may have been committed in the said case, the Government handout said.

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