Will submit PHE scam report in three weeks, Mehbooba govt tells court

Tribune News Service

The state government has informed the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that the status of the regular inquiry into the scam involving embezzlement of crores of rupees in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, Handwara, would be submitted within three weeks.

The HC was also informed that the Director General of the Audit and Inspections, J&K, was also conducting its inquiry and scrutinising the records.

The scam of the PHE division, Handwara, which was unearthed in April 2014, involves fraudulent withdrawal of crores of rupees from the official account which was managed by the Executive Engineer, PHE division, Handwara, under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) scheme.

Subsequently, the Chief Engineer, PHE, Kashmir, had constituted a three-member committee to probe the allegations and find out the truth. After scrutinising the records, the committee in its detailed report in August 2014 had recommended that the prima facie evidence merits reference of the case to the Crime Branch of the J&K Police for investigation.

Subsequently, the case registered at the Handwara police station was transferred to the Crime Branch on August 8, 2014. 

Meanwhile, a PIL was filed by a petitioner before the High Court, alleging that a number of irregularities and embezzlement worth crores of rupees in a number of schemes like the NRDWP, executed in the past, particularly from 2006, was done in connivance with officers/officials at the helm of affairs at the given point of time in the PHE division, Handwara.

As the HC started monitoring the investigation into the case, the PHE authorities placed 16 officers/officials, including the then Executive Engineer, under suspension, pending inquiry.

As the matter came up before a division bench of the High court this week, the court demanded the status of the regular inquiry into the matter.

“The state counsel states that the Director General, Audit and Inspections, J&K, is very vigorously conducting an inquiry and the same shall be concluded by the end of this month. It is also stated that the status of regular inquiry will be submitted within three weeks,” the High Court observed in its orders, while granting the Additional Advocate General three weeks to file the statement of facts and compliance report.