Prof S.K.Bhalla
It is a matter of solace that in our Union Territory, the administration is all out to celebrate with pomp and show -the vigilance awareness week 2024 on the theme ‘Culture of Integrity for Nation’s Prosperity. Good luck to all those who have taken a vow yesterday for uprooting the deep rooted devil of corruption without any abject compromises. Anyhow, this week should not only be restricted to photo session oath taking for media glare.
The realities that stare us in the face in our UT are not only horrifying but also disgusting in the light of what is being observed day in and day out. The Jammu and Kashmir ACB and Crime Branch apparently appear to be functional but the grim results compel one to ponder over their track records whose complete details of functioning never visit the public domain. As a matter of fact, the ACB entirely comprises of a motley crowd of men in Khakhi who in most of the cases are the same guys who in past manned the prime postings in their own parent department. Why no officers/officials from the civil administration are not deputed in ACB on significant postings? Are civilian officers not competent to take on the matters of graft. And if only the cops have more calibre to crack the corrupt practices then why those serving in the police and having raised disproportionate assets are not touched.
Friends integrity is a very difficult proposition in public life. Had it not been so our UT would not have been witness to a few high voltage scams in the past. Even at present, the Mining, PWD, PDD, H&UDD, Police, Revenue, Sales Taxes, Transport, Excise and Forest departments donot fulfill the criteria of integrity, transparency and work culture despite several measures initiated half heartedly in the recent past to check the ever growing menace of corruption.
It is a matter of huge concern that the health of our education sector is in a bad shape as corruption has also intruded into at an alarming extent and there is every possibility that if this rot is allowed with official protection to educational mafia then the dream of viksit and vibrant Bharat shall take a nose dive to the detriment of our young aspirants. There is a select lot of officers in all the departments who continue to rotate in and around the twin cities of Jammu and Srinagar on prime postings owing to their strong PR which raises a serious question mark on those who speak loudly that they are busy in taking head on the monster of corruption.
To the top of aforesaid, why there is inexplicable delay in the accord of prosecution sanction of all those IAS officers which the CBI has named in the arms licence scam ? This is an acid test for the administration who is sounding the buggle of integrity.