SHILLONG: Meghalaya governor Satya Pal Malik has expressed pleasure at the central bureau of investigation (CBI) initiating a probe into the graft allegations in Jammu and Kashmir, detected by him while serving as the governor between August 23, 2018 and October 30, 2019.
The governor told HT that if the intention of the government and CBI are sincere, it will bring good results for Kashmir, even as he admitted that rampant corruption was ruining the union territory.
Malik’s statement came after two FIRs were registered on Wednesday by CBI in connection with corruption allegations leveled by him as the former J&K governor in awarding contracts of a group medical insurance scheme for government employees and civil work worth ₹2,200 crore related to Kiru hydroelectric power project in the erstwhile state.
“I don’t want to comment much about it, but be assured, the day that I will depose, then they will come to know it (corruption) is very huge,” Malik told HT in a conversation at Raj Bhavan. “So much money has been pumped into over the years, but nothing has reached the people,” he said.
Last year, according to reports in a section of the press, Malik, who was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, claimed that he was offered a ₹300 crore bribe for clearing two files.
“After going to Kashmir, two files came to me (for clearance), one belonging to Ambani and another to an RSS-affiliated man who was a minister in the previous Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government and claimed to be very close to the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi),” he was reported to have said.
Some media reports also claimed that Malik told a gathering at Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan in October last year, “I was informed by secretaries in both the departments that there is a scandal and I accordingly cancelled both the deals. The secretaries told me that ‘you will get ₹150 crore each for clearing the files’, but I told them that I have come with five kurta-pyjamas and will leave with that only.”
Reacting to this comment attributed to him, the governor said, “Let me make it clear, no one offered me a bribe. There is nobody who can dare to bribe or offer me bribe but it was told to me by several people that there is so much money involved in this work, these fellows are in it. Then I examined the case and I found irregularities in them and so I cancelled it straightaway.”
“After cancellation, after two-three days I went to the Prime Minister and told him, look these are the contracts and I have cancelled, and I am thankful he (PM) supported me and said there should be no compromise on corruption,” he added.
Malik said he was misunderstood, and his statement misrepresented, even as he acknowledged that “everybody has not said that I have said I was offered, but in some sections of the press only.”
Expressing optimism that the case would reach its logical end and that many skeletons will tumble, the governor said, “And you will see many more people (are involved) in it.”
Underscoring that the root of all problems with Kashmir is corruption, Malik said, “There is a large-scale corruption in administration. If inquiry is done in an impartial manner and people are punished, then others will learn lessons.” He added, “It (corruption) is a very old disease of Kashmir because Kashmir has been treated very special and so much of money has gone there but (unfortunately) that has not reached the right people…”
The governor was, however, generous when asked about his assessment of corruption in Meghalaya, given the frequent reports of illegal coal mining and transportation being an eyesore for the state. He said things are better in Meghalaya as “nobody has come to complain and whatever I could see I am satisfied. However, in the northern states, all the money doesn’t go to the people”.
CBI, after registering the FIRs, carried out searches on Thursday morning at 14 locations in Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Mumbai, Noida in Uttar Pradesh, Trivandrum in Kerala and Darbhanga in Bihar.
The central agency has named Reliance General Insurance and Trinity Re-Insurance Brokers Limited as accused in its FIR related to a controversial health insurance scheme for Jammu and Kashmir government employees reportedly cleared by Malik in the state administrative council meeting on August 31, 2018.
“…unknown officials of Finance Department of Government of Jammu and Kashmir by abusing their official position in conspiracy and connivance with Trinity Reinsurance Brokers Ltd, Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd and other unknown public servants and private persons have committed the offences of criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct to cause pecuniary advantage to themselves and caused wrongful loss to state exchequer during the period 2017 and 2018 and thereby in this manner cheated the Government of Jammu and Kashmir,” the FIR alleged.
It was alleged in different quarters that there were glaring deviations from the government norms in the contract awarded to Reliance General Insurance like absence of an online tender, removal of an original condition that the vendor should have experience of working in the state and companies having turnover of ₹5,000 crore among others.
“The case was registered on the request of Jammu and Kashmir government on the allegations of malpractices in award of contract of J&K Employees Health Care Insurance Scheme to private company and release of ₹60 crore (approximately) in the year 2017-18,” CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said.
Officials said that after allegations of irregularities surfaced, the scheme, which was rolled out on September 30, 2018, was scrapped. “The governor has approved foreclosure of the contract with M/s Reliance General Insurance Company (RGIC) for implementing group mediclaim health insurance policy for the employees and pensioners in the state,” a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said on October 27, 2018.
He said the matter was referred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for examining the entire process to see whether it was conducted in a transparent and fair manner.
In the scheme which was initially signed up with RGIC for one year, the employees and pensioners would have got ₹6 lakh cover for themselves and five dependent family members by paying an annual premium of ₹8,777 and ₹22,229 for employees and pensioners, respectively.
In its FIR pertaining to the alleged malpractices in the award of contract for civil works package of Kiru hydroelectric power project, CBI said guidelines related to e-tendering were not followed. “The case was registered on allegations of malpractices in awarding the contract worth ₹2,200 crore (approximately) of civil works of Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project (HEP) to a private company in the year 2019,” Joshi said.
The agency has booked Navin Kumar Chaudhary, former chairman of Chenab Valley Power Projects (P) Ltd, MS Babu, former MD, MK Mittal and Arun Kumar Mishra, former directors of Patel Engineering Ltd.
“Though a decision was taken in 47th Board meeting of CVPPPL (Chenab Valley Power Projects (P) Ltd) for re-tender through e-tendering with reverse auction after cancellation of ongoing tendering process, same was not implemented (as per decision taken in 48th board meeting) and tender was finally awarded to Patel Engineering Ltd,” the FIR alleged.
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