Srinagar, Sep 4: The enquiry conducted by the State Vigilance Organization (SVO) three years ago had revealed that 66 persons were working illegally in Health Department in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.  
 Sources said the enquiry report of SVO is gathering dust since 2008 and has not been made public till date neither the department has taken any action against any official indicted in the probe.
 The enquiry report, a copy of which is lying with Greater Kashmir revealed that thirty ‘illegal’ and ‘fraud’ appointments of class-IV employees surfaced in Chrar-e-Sharief block alone. While another 33 illegal class-IV appointments have been made in Khan Sahib Block of Budgam district.
 The report has clearly mentioned the names of illegal appointees along with their relation with some officials in the department. It mentioned that the service record books were prepared by then Block Medical Officer (BMO) Chrar-e-Sharief. Similarly in Khan Sahib, the appointments were made by BMO Beerwah, Chattergam, Magam and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Budgam.
 The Vigilance probe also throws light on the antecedents of these illegal appointees. For instance, in Khan Sahib, senior assistant figuring on serial 21 has been shown as ‘cousin’ of CMO Budgam. Likewise, in Chrar-e-Sharief, an appointee on serial 25 has been shown appointed on the recommendation of Minister of state (H&ME).
 After conducting this probe, the anti-graft body had written about this fraud in a letter vide SVO-ABP-55/2007-10448-51 dated October 20, 2008 to Commissioner Secretary Health and Medical Education department.
 “In the course of an enquiry, the SVO has detected illegal appointments of nursing orderlies/safaiwals made by Chief medical officer Budgam in the blocks of Chrar-e-Sharief, Khansahib and Beerwah in violation of relevant rules. Some of these orders have been found fake and forged,” the letter reads.
 It also highlighted that these illegal and fraudulent appointments should be cancelled besides departmental action should be undertaken under ‘service conduct rules’ against the officials responsible for it.
 However, sources said no action came in the backdrop of this revelation. They said that Vigilance has also made some ‘faults’ in its process as they didn’t file an FIR on the insistence of a senior official. They said that one of the accused in the report was a close relative of some senior official in Vigilance.
 Minister for Health and family welfare Sham Lal Sharma told Greater Kashmir that as the matter has come to fore he would look into it. 
 “I wasn’t aware of it (vigilance probe) as I assumed the charge in the year 2009. Now that matter has come into my notice I will look into it,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 4 Sep 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 4 Sep 2011 18:30:00 GMT
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