IMRAN MUZAFFAR
Srinagar, Apr 29: Former High Court Judge, Justice (Retd) Bashir Ahmad Kirmani Sunday accused the Social Welfare Department of embezzling funds in the name of grants to widows.
 “There is a lot of embezzlement in the department. They don’t have substantial records. They grant funds to the influential ones, and the deserving remain high and dry. The department always professes that they are giving funds to widows but the fact is they just give forty percent of it, sixty percent is embezzled,” Kirmani said while addressing  a function organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Foundation to celebrate its 12th Annual Day Commemoration Program today.
 Kirmani demanded that an agency should be formulated to monitor functioning of NGOs in the Valley.
 “I would propose that genuine non-governmental organizations of the State should get united to better serve the society. In my tenure at the Bench, I have seen cases where funds worth crores of rupees meant for destitute and widows had been embezzled,” Kirmani said. 
 He asked NGOs to approach the Social Welfare Department for facilitating grant of funds for the deserving lot.
 “Once I heard a case in Court that crores of funds for rehabilitation of AIDS victims were distributed among Imams. When I asked the respondents logic behind spending the amount on Imams, they said Imams would educate people about the disease and the latter will refrain from the practices which cause AIDS. It was ridiculous,” he said.
 Kirmani said business establishments should channelise adoption of orphans in well-off families across the State. “The State spends seven crore per day. If they spend hefty amount on other things why cannot they do charity. People of the valley have already contributed much to the foundations including Yateem Trust and they must continue such charity so that we may prosper as a society,” he said.
 The executive member JKYF Muhammad Rafiq Lone while releasing the Foundations annual report said it has received a charity of Rs 4.65 crore in the previous two years.
 He said the JKYF has so far s spent Rs 3.73 crore. 
 On the occasion a documentary film – Sang-e-Meel – recording the achievements of the JKYF was screened. Children enthralled a mammoth congregation by singing JKYF tarana, wearing tracksuits and skullcaps.
 In his keynote address, Chairman JKYF Muhammad Ahsan Rather said orphans after leaving the trust face problems to get admissions for pursuing higher education.
 “Problems of hundreds of orphans and widows will be solved if people do contribute. We help individually but the process of donation and help have to be collective activism,” he said.
 Rather said suggestions from people are welcome for positive reshaping of JKYF. “We even accept RTI queries over functioning of the trust and people have every right to seek information from us on every aspect,” he said.
 Dr Bashir Ahmad Nehvi, Professor Iqbal Institute, Kashmir University, said people in the State have enough money. “But they are not spending it on genuine things like doing charity. When Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal visited Kashmir in 1921, he saw people in abject poverty. Now after a lot of time when people have money they do not do charity to help poor. Zakaat (donation) is must for every Muslim and by practicing it, a relation of goodness is generated,” he said.
 “Europeans have a great sense of charity. Now what is happening here is people have started to build masajid on roads. It is no faith. Faith of people is linked in doing charity; and mere prayers are not going to change the system,” Nehvi said.           
 He said trusts like JKYF have emerged as saviors for those who were neglected by others. “We have to love humans and assure that the underprivileged get the best facilities,” Nehvi said, adding more trusts should emerge to help out the deserving.
 Former Chairman J&K Yateem Foundation Ateequllah Bukhari said the basic cause of poverty was the non-cooperation of people. “We are living in a situation when we have to listen to our conscience to create new hopes for those who need our help. We are here to help each other, not to loot,” he said.
 “In Peru, dogs are married and given all the honors. But in Kashmir we have hundreds of orphans who are waiting to get married and seek help of people. I hope people here will do some self-introspection and do their bit to uplift the downtrodden,” Bukhari said.
 Among other who participated in the function included poet and social activist Zareef Ahmad Zareef, columnist Dr Javid Iqbal, Professor Nasir Mirza, Shakeel Qalander and students of Media Education Research Center Kashmir University.
 Later mementos and certificates of honour were distributed to position holders of Moral Science Test which was carried out JKYF and others.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 IST