District Collectors withhold compensation of farmers for 9 years, TSOs siphon BPL ration
Describing the loud announcements of the govt of dismissing the ‘dead wood’ and the ‘corrupt’ as absurd and ridiculous, Harsh Dev Singh chairman JKNPP and former minister today questioned its definition of the said terms being frequently used by it.
He said that while some inconvenient and uninfluential employees were being terminated by the govt to retrieve its fast-eroding credibility, the blue-eyed officers of BJP seemed to have been granted immunity by it despite their most perfidious and immoral conduct. This was stated by the NPP chairman while interacting with a delegation of block Ghordi residents who called on him today. Pointing towards the non-disbursement of house compensation to hundreds of farmers of Chenani, Dudu, Ramnagar and Ghordi blocks by the respective collectors for their residential units dismantled for construction of PMGSY roads 8-9 years back, Singh said that it provided the most glaring example of official redrape, non-performance and corruption besides contempt for the poor, indigent villagers. He said that despite funds having been placed at the disposal of District Collectors/SDMs by the PMGSY deptt 7-8 years back, the said collectors had withheld the said funds for extraneous considerations forcing the deprived farmers to lead a miserable life putting up in tents and sheds. He divulged that an RTI filed by him had revealed that funds for 32 houses dismantled on the alignment of roads in Ghordi block alone had been released by PMGSY deptt in 2012 after proper assessment of the values but the SDM Ramnagar had failed to disburse the said compensation to the affected houseowners even after a lapse of 9 years. Likewise land compensation in respect of dozens of roads released by PMGSY deptt to said collectors involving thousands of affected farmers been kept pending for several years and remained unpaid for years. Should the said officers not be enlisted as “Deadwood” for appropriate action in conformity with the govt’s tall sloganeering on the subject?, questioned Harsh. He said that the land compensation amount running in crores was reportedly being used to earn interest for years by the delinquent officers thus providing another glaring example of legalized corruption in the UT. Referring further to the unprecedented and unquantifiable pilferage of ration meant for the poor by the CAPD in Udhampur, Singh said that no cognizance was being taken of the huge scams in the deptt despite repeated complaints. Hundreds of ration card holders were being deprived of their ration every month on one pretext or the other with the helmsmen appearing to have buried their heads in the sand. It is not the theft of ration which is so surprising, said Singh. The most intriguing aspect is the cold criminal silence of the higher authorities towards the brazen loot which seems to be executed in collusion. Seeking personal indulgence of the LG, Singh said that if such incidents were allowed to go scot free, the govt would have to redefine the terms ‘deadwood’ and ‘corrupt’. The NPP leader further invited the attention of LG towards hundreds of hand pumps having become non-operational in Chenani and Ramnagar constituency with ground water wing of Jal Shakti deptt refusing to operationalize them by taking the plea of empty coffers. He said that while people in rural and remote areas were forced to drink water from ponds and rivers, the Jal Shakti deptt in Udhampur had shut its eyes to the woes of public and completely abdicated its responsibility towards the people.
