SRINAGAR, Apr 15 (Agencies): As the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly’s newly constituted House Committee prepares to begin its investigation into the alleged multi-crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam, whistleblower and former IAS officer Ashok Kumar Parmar has written to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), seeking the prosecution of former Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta and three retired chief engineers of the Jal Shakti Department, the Wire news portal reported.
Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir
In a detailed letter addressed to the ACB and citing recent court rulings dated April 12, Parmar has alleged that there exists “credible evidence” to prosecute Mehta, along with former chief engineers Manesh Bhat, Humesh Manchanda, and Basharat Jeelani Kawoosa, under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for their alleged involvement in a “criminal conspiracy to abuse public office, misappropriate public funds, and cause a massive loss to the state exchequer.”
Parmar’s letter accuses Mehta of abusing his position to facilitate large-scale irregularities in the procurement of
pipes worth Rs 6,000 crore under the centrally sponsored JJM scheme. The former top bureaucrat is alleged to have misled both the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Home Affairs, resulting in financial loss and delays in the implementation of the scheme, which aims to provide potable drinking water to every household in the Union Territory.
According to Parmar, Mehta bypassed mandatory administrative approvals from the Lieutenant Governor-chaired Administrative Council for the large-scale pipe procurements. Despite Parmar raising objections, Mehta allegedly failed to cancel irregular contracts, thereby enriching suppliers and contractors at the cost of public funds.
Launched on August 15, 2019, by the BJP-led Union government, the JJM has missed multiple deadlines in Jammu and Kashmir, with only 80.5 per cent of the targeted 18.69 lakh households covered so far. Parmar’s letter claims the delays are not merely bureaucratic but stem from deliberate mismanagement and misappropriation of funds.