To say that the state is run by thugs and criminals will be no exaggeration. The story carried by this newspaper about a senior minister in Omar Abdullah cabinet having purchased a villa in the famed Palm Tree Villas in Dubai, one of the world’s largest man-made islands in the United Arab Emirates, beyond any shadow of doubt suggests that a mafia is at the helm of affairs in this state, that by all indicators is a poor state. Having amassed massive wealth through corrupt practices the minister with humble origin has joined the elite club of international celebrities and globally known industrialists - like film actor Shah Rukh Khan, footballer David Beckham and Ambani brothers, Masood Naseeb of the Elysian Group - that own villas in the world’s costliest city. If the reports that have been pouring in the newspaper office are to be believed, it is just tip of an iceberg. The minister owns property worth billions within and outside the State. The minister who owns a villa in Dubai is not the only one who is neck deep in corruption but there are many others within the Cabinet who have been plundering the state exchequer with impunity. There are reports about some ministers and senior bureaucrats depositing the booties in banks outside the state including the Swiss banks. Taking commissions from the big suppliers of machinery and equipment and asking gratification are approved practices in the state administration. There have been reports about another senior minister having recently entered into a pact with a company that supplies machinery to departments under his control. In one single deal, worth crores, the minister earned about money to the tune of some crores. Many ministers and senior bureaucrats are hand in glove in looting the funds meant for the development both under the state plan and under centrally sponsored schemes. There have been reports about a minister having, during past one and half year, received some crore as gratification from his subordinate staff for transfers and postings. The minister, according to reports has put a price tag against postings depending upon the funds allocated to the division or the department. The stories like these, in fact, not only provide credence to the reports made public by the Transparency International, declaring the state as the most corrupt, but also make all the more difficult convincing the Planning Commission for providing more funds to the State to meet its requirements. Though, the State Chief Minister at the time of publishing of the report had expressed his anguish but so far he has failed to prevent his ministers from bringing the State terrible disrepute. It is not only the ministers from the Congress party that he has failed to reign in but some senior as well as junior ministers from his party are also busy in building their castles on the corpses of the suffering people of the State. It is not for the first time that the newspaper has carried a report about the corruption of the ministers and officers in the State administration but in the interest of the people of the state it has been exposing the corrupt in the administration with government hardly having ever denied it. But there is hardly an instance when a minister or a senior bureaucrat has been penalized for the corrupt practice. It sounds good that the story published in this newspaper has at least prompted the Government to announce that it had asked the state vigilance to probe the reports carried by this newspaper about charges of corruption against some ministers in the present Cabinet. It would be too early to doubt the sincerity of the government in probing the allegation of corruption against some of the ministers but going by experience the Government has been announcing not even ordering probes in the conduct of the ministers. Let us hope, in this case, may be for its own credibility, the Government probes the allegations against the ministers and punishes the guilty.

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