The cat is finally out. What was known to the people in general all along has found place in the print media also. In spite of huge annual budgets there is no perceptible change in the infrastructure. The economic plight of a common man stays same. The money   disappears into the pockets of Ministers, bureaucrats and contractors, very little used for the purpose it is meant. Who knows who is the mega  Minister who has managed to amass so much wealth as to spare a whopping 120 crores for a grand villa in the paradise  in Dubai, The palm tree islands. How much more he may possess is any body’s guess.  And why should not the rulers amass and enjoy, when there is absolutely zero accountability.  Theirs  is the authority, the power, the wealth and the luxuries of the earth, being answerable to none.

                  The world of corruption is vast  in our state, involving  the methods which you can only imagine. Every body knows it, though  some more, others less and every body is its victim some directly  and others  indirectly. Every body moans in pain, but when there is no escape from this beast of corruption, one  reconciles and carries on. Let us take a few aspects of our administration and try to figure out how rampant and blatant the corruption is. Those of us who have the experience of spending or being concerned directly or indirectly with the handling of plan  (developmental ) funds know that a sizable proportion of funds are allotted by the planning department  to other  departments in the 2nd fortnight of March, when you have only 5 to 10 days of the current fiscal year left to spend these allotments. Execution of works or  purchase and installment of machinery according to legal norms and probity, transparency and fair play requires floating of tenders, proper publicity, execution of works, their supervision and inspection etc, it takes months together. But when you have only 5 to 10 days left to expend these funds and  prove your efficiency by not surrendering them, it becomes only a matter of manipulating the records  instead of actually executing any work.  It is a common knowledge in the corridors of our governing structures that you buy money by spending money, irrespective of the fact whether you deserve the allotment or not. And when you have bought the money from the  your controlling authorities they lose the moral authority to question you how to spend it. It is not only happening in this government  it has been happening always, it has happened in the previous government also.

                         Those of us who have  been concerned directly or indirectly with the drawing of bills from the treasury  know how much it involves to draw a bill other than a salary bill. The contractors have to keep    the provision of one percent or so of their bills to be paid to the concerned if they do not  like to hear the excuses of shortage of cash. Every body knows it, every body  suffers it, but why do not the authorities who have the power to curb it   feel concerned is any body’s guess. Why does it happen?  It seems that monster of  corruption has completely overwhelmed our administrative structures and nobody likes to put his career at risk by trying to come in its way. The assertion is not a mental portrayal, it is a solid fact. Last year a friend of mine who is also a middle rung government servant tried to become a hurdle in the illegal  transfer of land to a land mafia under Roshni Act, he was regularly abused, insulted and then got transferred to a very far off  and inhospitable place under the pretext that he was very efficient officer and his services were required there.

                  Then another aspect is of making  purchases of machinery, which the department either does not  require at all or not in the huge quantities it is purchased. The legal system which ensures the purchase of  quality machinery at the competent and  reasonable prices is given go by. With the result you are able to buy the poor quality machinery, which you may not even require at exorbitant prices where you can get 20 t0 40 percent commission from the supplier. It can well earn you 5 t0 10 crores  in a single go if you purchase machinery for 30 0r 40 crores. No body cares, there is no institution in the state to hold a powerful  bureaucrat accountable, holding a minister accountable is a far cry.  Some time before a bureaucrat was proved to have purchased a machinery for Rs. 118 lacs when it was available for only Rs. 40 lacs. It was brought in the notice of concerned authorities, no body bothered, it did not make any dent in the fortunes of the concerned bureaucrat.

              It seems that our state is out to receive all ‘distinctions’: 2nd most corrupt state, Srinagar as the dirtiest city, richest Ministers and bureaucrats and you can only imagine what will come next. What has happened to the Accountability Commission? Is the State Accountability Act in its present form  enough potent to confront the demon of corruption? Is the Accountability Commission in its present form resourceful enough to  handle the enquiries / investigations?  Or it requires any  investigating wing to  carry out investigations and enquiries under its supervision, the Govt. has to ponder over and  take action. The another instrument is the Information  Commission which has the potential to empower the common man against corruption by public authorities. Why the Government has failed to constitute the Information Commission so for? People like the authorities to answer these questions.

(Zubair Bashir is a law student in Kashmir University. He can be contacted of zubair01234@gmail.com)

Lastupdate on : Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST