Officers’ panel fails to meet timeline for inquiry; erring officers remain unpunished

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 17: Despite their clear-cut involvement in the embezzlement, loot and plunder of the funds meant for Pargwal Canal Command Area Development (CAD) Project, the erring officers have remained unpunished as a committee of senior officers has failed to meet the timeline for holding in-depth inquiry and making necessary recommendations to the Agriculture Production Department.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Agriculture Production Department received physical and financial progress ending June 2017 in respect of Pargwal Canal Command Area Development Project from Director Command Area Development Department vide communication No CADJ/Adm/2017-18/279 dated July 31, 2017 followed by letter dated September 20, 2017.
While going through the monthly progress report till June 2017 for the project, the Agriculture Production Department found that the Assistant Soil Conservation Officer Sarore had booked an expenditure of Rs 27.10 lakh within a period of one week of receiving funds.
As these funds were placed at the disposal of Assistant Soil Conservation Officer Sarore on June 13, 2017 by Project Officer SWM Command Area Develo-pment Jammu, the Agriculture Production Department while taking cognizance of un-usual high expenditure directed the Project Officer to submit report, sources said.
The Project Officer in his report submitted that it was not possible to take up new works with allotment of Rs 27.10 lakh because the executers of the project area were time and again approaching and pressing hard for clearance of their pending claim on account of works already executed. However, the facts remained that there was no liability on account of old works as on ending March 2017 as stated by the Director, Command Area Development Department Jammu, sources informed.
As no works had been executed in excess to the released amount in the last financial year (2016-17) on ground and State exchequer was embezzled on false claim of liability, the Project Officer was confronted with the facts and figures. It was also observed by the senior officers that claim of the Project Officer that pressure was exerted on the Assistant Soil Conservation Officer Sarore by so-called executers to pay the pending claims had no basis especially in the light of the fact that Project Officer had himself approved many payments whose number is approximately seven out of 18 drawls.
After being confronted, the Project Officer A K Dubey admitted that a mistake has been committed on their part and the payments made by him for old works was in contradiction as far as physical reports by ending March 2017 were concerned.
Noticing that embezzlement, loot, plunder of the public money has been committed by Project Officer A K Dubey and Assistant Soil Conservator Officer Sarore Firdous Ahmed Tak by mutual connivance, it was decided that an enquiry committee shall be constituted for conducting in-depth probe into the misappropriation and plunder of funds in respect of Pargwal Canal Command Area Development (CAD) Project Jammu.
Accordingly, vide Government Order No.318-Agri of 2017 dated December 22, 2017 Commissioner Secretary to the Government, Agriculture Production Department Mohammad Afzal constituted a committee of officers to conduct in-depth inquiry into the misappropriation of funds.
The committee headed by Showkat Ahmad Beigh, Secretary in Agriculture Department and comprising of Mohammad Yousuf Pandit, Director Finance Agriculture Production Department, Jatinder Singh, Director Command Area Department Jammu and Suresh Kumar, Assistant Director (P&S) Agriculture Production Department was directed to conduct inquiry and submit its findings/report within a period of one month.
“What to talk of submitting its finding within the stipulated time-frame (by January 22, 2018), the committee has not even started detailed inquiry despite the lapse of nearly three months”, sources said, adding “due to failure of the committee to complete the assigned task in a time bound manner the erring officers have remained unpunished”.
When contacted, Showkat Ahmad Beigh, Chairman of the committee said, “since we all were busy in Budget Session and then in conducting interviews for various posts in Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Jammu we could not get time for holding inquiry”.”Hopefully, we will be able to start the exercise in the days to come”, he further said in response to a question.

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