By Arfat Khan
Jammu: On account of alarming rise in anonymous complaints against officers, the administration in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is steadily infested with “No Work Culture” syndrome.
Continuously keep raining in the office of Lieutenant Governor G.C.Murmuru and Anti Corruption Bureau, these anonymous complaints have inflicted a serious dent to the administrative acumen of several officers.
Thus resulted in the formation of a force of demoralised officers in the wake of unwarranted harassment on account of these vague complaints.
“If for working with dedication we are awarded with pre mature transfer and harassment, then it’s better to sleep over matters to avoid wrath of blackmailers” said one member of KAS officers association.
Interestingly, out of ignorance the administration in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has engaged its huge man power for disposal of such anonymous and pseudonymous complaints containing ghost names and addresses in contradiction to its own circular.
Sources in LG secretariat reveal “On an average in a month, the GGC received 2500 complaints against officers of various departments through various means. Thereafter, these complaints were forward to concerned department for necessary action and feedback”.
The mechanism of GGC is devised in a healthy manner to redress grievances of general public in real sense. However, some blackmailers are taking undue advantage of this platform to get their wrong works done besides extorting money from officers, said a highly placed sources.
“Every month nearly 350 to 400 complaints returned by the concerned departments on account of vague allegations in letters with ghost name and addresses” This is a serious causality on service deliverance system in the administration, added sources.
Sources disclosed that on many instances the higher ups in the state administration has reshuffled senior officers merely on the basis of vague allegations mentioned in these anonymous complaints.
In the last one year, several officers were transferred pre maturely merely on the basis of these anonymous complaints which results in demoralisation of officers, revealed sources.
Circular number 22 /GAD (Vig) of 2015 dated 10-07-2015 issued by the General Administration Department (vigilance section) clearly says “No action is required to be taken on anonymous complaints irrespective of the nature of allegations and such complaints simply need to filed.” Besides complaints containing vague allegations could also be filed without verification.
Impressing upon all the government departments and autonomous bodies for strict compliance of the instructions, the order further said that even if the complaints contain verifiable allegations, the designated department will first send the complaint to the complainant for owning or disowning it. In case no response received within 15 days, a reminder needs to be sent.
In case no response received after second reminder, the concerned department may termed it as pseudonymous complaints and filled it as trash.
However, despite explicit guidelines in force the departments are still busy in handling such complaints of blackmailers at the cost of constructive activities.
“Complaints with ghost names and address has rise to an alarming proportion in the recent past which results in engagement of manpower on futile task thus hampering day to day public services work in almost every department” asserts a senior officer of GAD preferring anonymity.
The government seriously need to curb this menace of blackmailer complaints which has virtually spread its ugly tentacles everywhere and hijacked the entire administration as well as LG office, added sources.