The three-member Enquiry Committee constituted by the Government in June 2012 to probe into alleged irregularities in Jammu & Kashmir Cooperative Supply & Marketing Federation Ltd. (JAKFED) has submitted its report. The Daily Excelsior is in possession of a copy of the same. An over view of the report suggests that there has been the general loot of the organization perpetrated with the connivance of all senior officials right up to the rank of its boss. The list of the irregularities, both financial and administrative is too long to be recounted her. Its detailed version has already been brought to the public domain. What is needed to be discussed here is the arbitrary manner in which the administration of the organization has been conducted for many years. The impression one gathers from the report is that the implicated Managing Director, namely Ravinder Gupta, in connivance with his juniors, who in turn also have had their pound of flesh, has been distributing favours to the favourites in the organization be it monetary or rank promotion. He has been a law unto himself. This is a bazaars report and the irregularities brought out smack of a melodrama we see on broad screen. Promotions have been made in pick and chose manner depending on the sweet will of the MD and others concerned. While promotions were ordered, these were given retrospective effect with the result that the incumbents got the title for huge arrears which have been paid. The authority of the Minister and other high ups in the Department has more often been ignored. The 278th meeting of the Board of Directors (BoD) was convened under the chairmanship of the Minister for Cooperative Manohar Lal Sharma. The minutes of the meeting issued by the then Managing Director, Ravinder Gupta didn’t have the approval of the Chairman although the minutes of meeting were pasted in the minutes book lying in custody of Manager (Personnel), yet the said minutes had not been signed by the Chairman and any other member.
This report is an eye-opener on the functioning of the JAKFED. No wonder, therefore, that enormous sum of money remains looted from the public exchequer without any proper record anywhere. One wonders how this scandal did not come to the notice of responsible Government functionaries at proper time and why an enquiry was ordered so late. With the sordid story of JAKFED before us, how can one believe that we have had good governance? All dealings, which the organization conducted, have been murky and ask for much to explain. Be it the arrears outstanding against the staff members, CPF deposits, cement supplies, bitumen supply etc. there is clear indication of mismanagement, corruption and embezzlement. Report indicates there has been nexus among the main functionaries of the organization and as such it is organized loot.
The Minister for Cooperative has received the report of the Enquiry Committee which had been constituted under his orders. He is studying the report and the matter will be pursued by the Government. Obviously, the Minister is answerable because the issue of mismanagement in Cooperative Department had been raised in the Legislative Assembly by a member of the ruling party. We expect the Government to take a firm and final decision on the report without waste of time. Delaying or deferring its decision on the case will give time to the indicted persons to bring about political pressure on the government which can be disastrous. It is not without interest that the two storey wooden annexe in the Secretariat complex in Srinagar that got gutted only recently contained files and documents pertaining to this scandal. This record has been destroyed. It is just possible that the enquiry set up in connection with this fire may tumble upon surprising links of the fire incident with the JAKFED episode. The sooner the government announces its verdict on the case the better it will be in the interests of good governance.
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