Going by the recent “futile” inquiries done by the State Vigilance Directorate, the civil society in Cuttack is questioning the sincerity of the State Government in handing over to the anti-corruption wing of the police department the inquiry into the illegal allotments of lands, houses and flats under the discretionary quota (DQ).
A Taskforce headed by senior bureaucrat Dr Taradatt has suggested cancellation of as many as 1,800 allotments, including 921 by the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) since January 1, 1995. The Taskforce has also suggested further investigation into the illegalities by an “independent agency” to initiate criminal proceedings against the defaulters.
“However, instead of a probe by an independent agency, the Government has handed over the case to Vigilance, whose inquiries in recent days have raised a lot of questions on its sincerity,” alleges social activist and High Court lawyer Nishikant Mishra.
Substantiating his argument, Mishra said recent statistics on the performance of the Vigilance Directorate obtained through an RTI Act application prove that the Vigilance would not be able to bring a logical end to the DQ imbroglio.
Quoting the RTI reply, Mishra said the Cuttack Division of Vigilance has instituted at least 450 cases since 2004. Out of these, chargesheets have been filed in 408 and final reports have been made in 42 other cases. “But surprisingly, only eight persons have been convicted in these cases and as many as 15 persons have been acquitted by the court,” Mishra said, reiterating his demand for a CBI inquiry into the DQ mess.