SAC toothless against corruption

Corrupt Ministers, bureaucrats continue to loot state

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Dec 05: The Ministers and bureaucrats against whom cases of corruption have been filed are still roaming free in Jammu and Kashmir as they have brought stay against the process initiated against them by anti-corruption body, State Accountability Commission (SAC).

This has totally exposed the claims of the government that state has a vibrant anti-corruption body to take action against high and mighty, involved in galloping crores of rupees.

There is question raised by everybody about has SAC is failed to rein in on corruption in the state?

Showing his helplessness, Chairman SAC, Yash Pal Nargotra told TNI that as in some cases high court has stayed the proceedings, SAC cannot take any action till the stay is revoked. “We cannot do anything till stay order is there”, he said.

Sources said that 15 cases of corruption or misuse of official position has been registered in the State Accountability Commission (SAC) is still pending from the past long time.

According to officials the cases included state politicians in which four sitting ministers in the Omar Abdullah led government besides the name of some former minister of the state are also include in this.

Officials further said that the minister whose case are pending before the ani-corruption commission are Minister for Finance & Ladakh Affairs, Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control, Taj Mohi-ud-Din, Minister for  Public Enterprises, Peerzada Mohd. Sayeed and Minister of State Cooperatives, Printing & Stationery and Elections, Manohar Lal Sharma.

Besides this some former state ministers legislators who are also facing charges of corruption included Abdul Gaffar Sofi from Peoples Democratic Party, Hakim Mohammad Yasin from Peoples Democratic Forum and Mangat Ram Sharma, Suman Lata Bhagat, Gulchain Singh Charak and Khem Lata Wakhloo from Congress.

The SAC still failed to take any strict action against the said ministers due to the reason 

best known to them.

The state was ranked as the number 2 corrupt state in India during the Congress-PDP coalition government.

“Making a mockery of tall claims by state government to bring transparency in the functioning of the administration while on one side government claims that every possible efforts is being made to eradicate corrupt elements but inside the administration there are many corrupt ministers and officials working in the state government department” said a source.