Malik Jehangir
SRINAGAR: Most of the times it has been observed that the officers while responding to Right to Information (RTI) applications give wrong information and the Public Information Officer (PIO) of a particular department forward the same incorrect information to the RTI applicant or applicants.
Wildlife Warden South Kashmir Wildlife Division, Department of Wildlife Protection, Intesar Suhail while responding to an RTI application has said that he possesses land measuring one kanal of land at Sheikhpora and the market value of the property is 20 lakhs, which is not true.
Since Sheikhpora area is located in close vicinity of Srinagar Airport the value of the land at this place is no less than one and a half crores. Given this fact the officer has provided wrong information and the PIO concerned has not bothered to check the facts provided by the Wildlife Warden.
Suhail while responding to the RTI application moved by Qamar Bhat, Kaisar Mir and Naseem Qadri said that he purchased one kanal of land from Rehana Abdullah wife of Sajad Athar resident of Wagoora tehsil and district Baramulla in 2014. The Khasra number of the property is 444 Sheikhpora, tehsil and district Budgam.
Although, the Wildlife Warden is miser in showing the value of the property owned by him, there is nothing like that while making purchases at the government level. He has been making extravagant purchases while forcing the poor labour to suffer who are putting their best efforts to run the division.
“The Wildlife Warden purchased a camera along with a lens for more than two crores. The camera is being used for personal uses and not official purposes. On the other side the consolidated employees as well as workers engaged by the department are without salaries for the past so many months and no headway whatsoever has been made in this regard,” said sources.
Sources said that Wildlife Warden never seeks permission to leave the station adding that the officer leaves his headquarter at will without informing the higher ups. They said that the officer has to be stationed at the headquarter adding that the Wildlife Warden leaves the headquarters every now and then.
“It is an established norm that an officer posted at headquarters has to remain at his place of posting and he or she should be ready for any eventuality. In the case of Wildlife Warden South Kashmir there is nothing like that since he on most of the days is found present at his house at Sheikhpora,” said sources.
Sources said that the daily wagers working in the South Kashmir division are without salary and same could have been paid out of the amount utilized in purchasing the camera. They said that although the camera has been purchased for the official purposes it is being used for personal purposes by the Wildlife Warden.