Despite lapse of two years, Director ULB Jammu fails to initiate an inquiry into the Thanamandi Municipality backdoor recruitment scam

Despite lapse of two years, Director ULB Jammu fails to initiate an inquiry into the Thanamandi Municipality backdoor recruitment scam

POONCH TODAY NEWS

RAJOURI: The sorry state of affairs in the directorate of Urban Local Bodies Jammu and at the top level of the department shows that tainted officials of the department have the backing of their top bosses.  It was exclusively reported by “POONCH TODAY” that many backdoor appointments and promotions of Safai Karamchari as junior assistants were scripted by a few executive officers in Thanamandi Municipality; no inquiry has yet been ordered by the government against those involved in this scam despite the lapse of more than two years.

A few executive officers of the local bodies department were the brainchild behind the scam, as they favoured their blood relatives and helped them first get backdoor appointments, and later they were promoted out of the way, thereby throwing dust into the eyes of the government. The matter reached the directorate of local bodies in Jammu through the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Rajouri, but due to reasons best known to the high chairs, no inquiry has yet been ordered against the erring EOs who played a big role in adjusting their close relatives for posts that were not meant for people other than the deserving caste. This open fraud scripted in Thanamandi municipality is just the tip of the iceberg, as many such financial frauds were scripted by those who remained EOs at different positions in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri. Those behind this scheme collaborated to make money from various schemes in the local bodies department during their tenures as EOs and in other important positions in various municipal committees. On the one hand, the commissioner of local bodies is known as a hard taskmaster, but her silence on this issue has also raised a big question mark for the department about how such an open fraud had taken place in Thanamandi Municipality. Likewise, huge financial blunders were scripted in MC Kalakote, Nowshera, Rajouri, Poonch, and Surankote over the years, but those financial foul plays were scripted in a silent way. If the government conducts an inquiry in these municipalities, a big scam involving several crores will come out, sources added. These reports indicate that some executive officers over the years misused their official positions brazenly, but it’s shocking that their bad practices were not taken to task by the government. A high-level investigation into the matter is required from the Commissioner ULB and Director  ULB Jammu to bring those executive officers and related staff members who were complicit in such malpractices to justice, especially those who scripted the backdoor recruitment scam in Thanamandi municipality.