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Tax payers money looted, govt properties encroached by J&K BJP leaders: Harsh

 

Jammu, 01-10-2021:* Ridiculing the tall slogans of transparency, good governance and corruption free dispensation in J&K, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman-JKNPP and former Minister today accused the current dispensation of allowing open loot of tax payers’ money besides illegal encroachment of govt properties and Estates bungalows by BJP leaders. He said that despite the Assembly having been dissolved in 2018, the corrupt bureaucrats had allowed the BJP leaders to retain the govt mansions including ministerial bungalows in defiance of the SOPs and in blatant circumvention of the orders of the High Court. He said that not only were the said leaders allowed to illegally retain the Estates bungalows but several of them had been permitted to stay therein without paying any rent. He was addressing a press conference in Jammu today.

 

            Referring to the reply obtained by him yesterday in response to an RTI application, Mr. Singh said that the rent outstanding against the BJP leaders ran into lacs with the Estates Deptt authorities failing to act against such defaulters and illegal encroachers due to an unholy officer–politician nexus prevailing in the Deptt. Pointing towards the details provided to him in RTI reply, Mr. Singh revealed that highest defaulter was Mr. Sunil Sharma against whom an amount of Rs. 4,02,186 was outstanding as rent as on 31st August, 2021 in respect of Bungalow no. 14 Special, Gandhi Nagar. Likewise the rent outstanding against Mr. RS Pathania in respect of Bungalow no.6 Ghulami Bagh amounted to Rs. 1,35,546 as on 31st August, 2021 as per the reply provided by the govt. Likewise, the other defaulters included Mr. Ravinder Raina owing Rs. 70, 993; Kavinder Gupta, Rs. 38,331; Neelam Langeh Rs. 38,936; Bali Bhagat Rs. 25,554; Pardeep Sharma Rs. 95,492. Not only the Ex-MLAs and MLCs of BJP were allowed to retain the govt bungalows illegally but one Manohar Lal General Secretary BJP was allotted Estates accommodation in Gandhi Nagar and he owed Rs. 92,104 as rent with not a single penny having been paid by him. The BJP leaders had not only usurped the said govt bungalows without rent but had refused to pay the power tariff bills which amounted to lacs. And while the power connections of poor BPL families were cut off for non-payment of even a few hundred of rupees, the corrupt regime of BJP had granted immunity to these political persons to loot the public exchequer and abuse the govt resources providing the most glaring example of Jungle Raj prevailing in the Deptt.

 

            Not only the BJP leaders had been granted such unwholesome favours by the corrupt bureaucracy but it had allotted Estates bungalows in Gandhi Nagar Jammu after dissolution of Assembly for Apni Party office and People Conference office in violation of all rules, norms, regulations, bye laws, prevalent practices and procedures relating to allotment of govt accommodation.

 

            Similarly several officers who had been allotted Ladakh UT and were no more serving in J&K UT had also been allotted Estates bungalows in Gandhi Nagar Jammu defying all logic and rationale. And while atleast six Estates bungalows had been allotted to officers of Ladakh UT, the J&K UT officers were accommodated in private bungalows hired on huge premium running into several lacs. The reply stated that atleast 44 govt officers were lodged in private bungalows in Jammu alone putting huge burden on state exchequer with none to take cognizance in a govt making haughty, supercilious claims of good governance and corruption free system.

 

          Mr. Shanker Dass (Ex-Sarpanch & President, Panthers Kisan Council); Mr. Surinder Chouhan (District President Jammu Rural) and Mr. Gurdeep Singh (Youth Secretary Jammu Rural) were also present in the press conference.