Jammu and Kashmir vigilance sleuths are investigating a recruitment scam in Bandipora Municipal Committee in which at least 160 people are alleged to have been employed under political influence. According to records of the Municipal Committee,recruitment norms like calling for applications and holding interviews for various posts were not adhered to. The politicians whose names figured in the recruitment process include Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand,Legislative Assembly Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone and Opposition PDP MLA from Bandipora Nizamuddin Bhat. Ironically,most of the appointment orders were issued in September 2009,less than six months before the five-year term of the Committee was to expire in March 2010. Probably unaware of the implications,some of the orders of recruitment issued by then president of the Municipal Committee explicitly mentions that the appointment is done on the desire of a particular politician. "As desired by honourable Speaker of the J&K Legislative Assembly and in view of the dire need for proper watch and ward of plantation beats of Municipal Committee Bandipora,Javed Ahmad Yatoo is hereby temporarily appointed as plantation watcher in the minimum pay scale (4440-7440+1300) plus other usual allowance as admissible under rules from time to time," reads an order dated August 21,2009. Similar orders have been passed in which appointment was made on the recommendation of Tara Chand and in at least one case,of Bhat. While the appointments were made on need basis,some of the appointees hailed from as far as Jammu region - more than 350 km from the place of their work. Amit Sharma,a resident of Sainik Colony in Jammu,was appointed as Works Supervisor. His appointment was based on a "resolution passed by the elected council" but the order was silent on whether the appointment was on temporary or permanent basis. More than a dozen orders were passed by the then executive officer of the Municipal Committee Abdul Rashid Shah,appointing over 50 casual labourers "on need basis" on a consolidated monthly pay of Rs 3,300 each. The casual labourers were hired in spite of a ban imposed by the state government on such appointments. Shah said there was nothing wrong with the appointments made by the Municipal Committee or his person. "The Committee is an autonomous body and is exempt from referring the appointments to the recruitment bodies. The persons I have appointed were not permanent and only on temporary basis." Shah,however,said the issue is being investigated by the State Vigilance Organisation for some time now. "It is not just the Bandipora Municipal Committee but 48 Committees have done the same," he claimed.
