SVC proving a toothless tiger to fight against corruption in J&K

Manpower shortage hits functioning

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, July 04: Despite giving much publicity to State Vigilance Commission (SVC) by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah that a anti-corruption body will rid the state of corruption, government has failed to fill up key positions in the SVC as the commission sans men power besides infrastructure and other required facilities to deal with the cases.

Sources disclosed that the staff strength in the commission was to be amplified by re-employing the blotless senior bureaucrats and officials from government administration department who were to unblemished soon but the process of saturating SVC still hangs in balance as most of the key posts lying vacant hampering the functioning of the commission.

Out of two positions sanctioned for Vigilance Commissioner (VC), R K Jerath is appointed in one position whereas the other post is still lying vacant.

Sources said the government is also failed to provide them any technical staff which include superintending Engineers, Chief Technical Officers, Revenue, Forest, R&B and Civil Engineers besides other staff.

Out of three sanctioned posts for Additional Secretary in the commission two positions are unoccupied. Likewise, there are twelve approved posts for law officer in which eleven are lying vacant. Whereas there no deputy secretaries in the commission and all the four sanctioned position are empty.

Whereas as far as other infrastructures are concerned the building for the office of commission is also under renovation and at present the commission is working from the lawns of Old Assembly Complex in the summer capital of the state.

It is pertinent to mention here that the SVC has received 362 cases of corruption against the government officials in a short span of just four months out of which 154 are directly and 208 from the State Accountability Commission (SAC).

Even after more than two years of the passing of the Act by the Legislature for setting up the SVC and four months of constitution of the commission, the government hasn’t framed its ruled so far.

Despite repeating attempts Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) Kuldeep Khoda could not be contacted for his version.