At the outset, is there no mechanism of redressing of complaints and grievances in the office of the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) and has no one from the Housing Department or other concerned authorities looked into it ? There are numerous aggrieved allot (ees) of plots of land , both residential as well as commercial, who despite having parted with lakhs of Rupees and paying the same to the JDA are being constantly but brazenly denied the possession thereof. The JDA otherwise is required to get its functioning cleansed and to promote and encourage transparency in its day to day functioning but the alleged malaise of the undesirable acts of some insiders who matter, being reported to be hand in glove with private dealers and encroachers, possession to identified allot (ees) of the plots is denied. It is astonishing, based on the feedback received , that numerous complaints lodged even with the Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor and other senior bureaucrats against the JDA in the concerned matter have yielded no results. The said (few) insiders of the JDA are thus getting hard skinned and emboldened instead of made accountable for the mess created ostensibly for personal pecuniary gains . We are afraid, such instances not only thwart the process of bringing in good governance but are up to defaming and defeating such initiatives taken by the Government from time to time. Once all prerequisites and formalities having been completed,like names of successful bidders duly announced after large number of bids received by the JDA out of which names of those with highest bids announced for allotment of plots , why this approach of denying the actual possession? This is particularly so when the consideration for the plots having been duly paid by the allot(ees). Not only this, even a high interest of 18 per cent on the delayed payment has been realised from the allot (ees) by the JDA but still refusing to give the concerned persons actual possession of plots is intriguing as it is going contrary to the basic tenets of commercial transactions and propriety. Unless there were cogent reasons, all based on legal or tangible official basis, which need to be duly clarified by the JDA and the timeline advised too by which date those ” reasons” would cease to operate or not come in between the (prospective ) plot holders and the actual possession, even that too not being done lends credence to smelling of a rat that the JDA was anything but fair and transparent in its working .That scenario, however, could not be allowed to continue anymore which needed to be taken note of those ”insiders” who feel that the JDA had perhaps become their own personal fief to do anything they liked. In departments like the one under reference, where public dealing and that too in respect of things most sought after like plots, shops, commercial buildings etc are involved , prompt complaint redressing mechanism should be installed and monitored regularly. It will not be out of place to mention that intelligence network of the ACB and other agencies must be very active around and even inside the said office so as to expose and nab unscrupulous elements due to whose ill doings the entire department gets defamed . Regular change of duties and ”desks” and even transfers should be made a routine so that ”indispensability ” and hegemony of a few employees do not succeed to the extent of institutionalising nontransparency and underhand dealings. In the light of all these facts and realities, why should the higher authorities in the administration not intervene at the earliest and take stock of the situation , particularly the way and style of working of the JDA, so that appropriate action against the erring and corrupt employees was taken as a deterrent. In the meantime, we urge the authorities to see merit in the case under reference and if all formalities including the consideration money having been paid in full by the ones to whom plots stand allotted may get the possession as well , at an early date.
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