MES officers held in bribe case

Four naval MES officers held in bribe case date: 22/10/2012
The CBI on Thursday evening arrested four officers of the Military Engineering Services (MES), Navy, Lonavla for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a contractor for passing his bills.
The arrested officers are garrison engineer Joy Thomas, assistant garrison engineers A K Khan and K Saravanan, and junior engineer (civil) Ravi Paul.
According to the CBI, contractor Kuldeep Jain from Market Yard was awarded two contracts, totally worth Rs 2 crore, for construction work at the navy’s training institute INS Shivaji in Lonavla.
Jain received running bills of Rs 72 lakh for one contract on October 10, and Rs 13 lakh for the other contract on October 12. However, the officers had allegedly demanded a bribe to pass the other bills, for the work was still going on.
Jain lodged a complaint with the CBI’s anti-corruption bureau on Wednesday. The CBI laid a trap in the office of Joy Thomas on Thursday and caught the suspects red-handed. The investigation agency seized Rs 1.5 lakh from Thomas and Rs 1 lakh from his cupboard, Rs 1 lakh from Khan, Rs 50,000 from Saravanan and Rs 1 lakh, which was meant for Paul, from the car of Saravanan.
On Friday, inspector D K Bali produced the suspects before special court judge D R Mahajan. Seeking five days’ CBI custody for the suspects, special public prosecutors Vivek Saxena and Ayub Pathan told the court that custodial interrogation of the suspects was essential to investigate their individual roles in the case. They also said that the CBI needed time to investigate the role of the suspects in connection with dealing of files and passing bills at various levels.
The court sent the suspects to CBI custody till October 22, 2012
-via The Times of India.
MES officers held in bribe case

Sukhna scam: Parliament panel wants regulator for defence estates

Press Trust Of India, New Delhi, April 15, 2010
The Sukhna land scam allegedly involving four Army Generals, including former military secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash, on Thursday came under sharp attack from a Parliamentary panel which strongly recommended setting up of "an independent regulator" by the Defence Ministry to manage its estates.

"The committee is of the strong view that land scams such as Sukhna land scam affect the image of Army and the defence services as a whole and as such it is utmost necessary that the country should have the fool-proof system to regulate the defence estates," the Parliamentary Committee on Defence said in its latest report tabled in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The Defence Ministry, however, has conveyed to the committee that there was no need for a separate regulator in view of adequate existing system within the ministry.

But the committee, headed by Congress member Satpal Maharaj, recommended that "their suggestion of having an independent regulator should be considered by the (Defence) Ministry positively" and it be apprised accordingly about the action taken in this regard.

The committee was referring to the recent controversies regarding the use of defence land reported by the media including the Sukhna land scam, which involved issuance of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the Army officers for setting up an educational institution at the military base in Darjeeling district.

Other officers allegedly involved in the scam were Lt Gen PK Rath, whose appointment as the Deputy Chief of the Army was scrapped following the unearthing of the scam, 11 Corps commander Lt Gen Ramesh Halgali and Major General PC Sen.

The Army has ordered disciplinary proceedings in the form of court martial against Prakash and Rath, while the other officers would face administrative action.

Prakash's plea -- first in the Armed Forces Tribunal and later in the Supreme Court -- for scrapping of the court martial proceedings on the ground that the inquiry into the scam did not follow procedures was not accepted by the tribunal or the apex court.

Referring to the Defence Ministry's view that there was no need for a separate regulator, the committee said, "In spite of internal mechanism to regulate defence estates, such (Sukhna land scam) incidents are happening."
Sukhna scam: Par panel wants regulator for defence estates

Tailpiece:
The MES and DEO are the most corrupt organisations directly or overtly controlled by MoD. We certainly need a Par Panel to probe the Land Scams and Encroachments by Criminals.

Corruption in the Armed Forces is reflection of the Nation's standard of governance

Agony of today's society is that no one is ready to believe that there can be an honest human being in present materialistic world of Glitter, Glamour and Gleam (3G).

I have tried to debate about a few cases of Army which have been hitting portal stands every now and than, but what about those which are internally being probed? There is a need for the Armed Forces to form a Tri Service Anti Corruption Committee to unearth internal wrong doings. This committee should:

Prepare dossiers of such people and keep them always under scanner

Make inter force more amalgamated and knit woven

Allow exchange of each others good and bad way of financial dealing

Allow a unique and sound financial management of all the three services where a large part is dealt by Army

Develop a healthy competition amongst services to improve records

Develop for short durations an unhealthy rivalry with presumption of spying each other ways of functioning

Measures leading to overall improvement in the Armed Forces financial credibility.

Readers would agree that until unless Indians have fears of external agencies, they become unafraid. Another agency which is more or less equally responsible for corruption is the functions of the Comptroller General of Defence Account (CGDA) in India. There is a need to make the provision in the system to carry out Surprise Checks of Accounts (SCA) and Audit of Works (AOW) of CGDA on quarterly basis at all levels; to bring this organization under one or the other part of investigating agency scanner. I also feel that the present provision of CGDA audit is not strong enough to tame the corrupt people. I would suggest that one part of the Armed Forces only should be allowed to scrutinize and carry out audit of CDA. As the CDA activities remain unchecked, and the organization staff is viewed as demi-god, until unless such a provision is made in the law, the corruption remains our main stream of Business.

I again repeat that Corruption is in our blood; statement of Shri Jagan Nath BA, nearly a decade later after India became a sovereign in 1947; and Indians have traveled nearly fifty years after that till date with a large part of society becoming corrupt and lesser struggling to remain honest. World over, I have accounted over one hundred and fifty five different movies made based on corruption as theme, where honest people are trapped by dishonest, and honest man's next generation takes nearly 25 years to prove his ancestor innocent. Same stories are most of the times are seen in real life itself where corrupt people with the help of police get away and honest who files a complaint, keeps running from one police station to other and one court to another exhausting both financially and physically.

However, as I know, the Indian Army is still out of such option but whenever a soldier or lower rank officer, junior commissioned officer, non commissioned officer or a soldier is tried for different offence of financial irregularity, he always tries to link his dismissal or severe punishment with one or the other senior offices in hierarchy. A very famous case of Indian Army Siachin Glacier Fake encounter to get awards, which had rocked the Nation, is still alive in the mind of people.

I would also like to debate a few issues of lucrative services and arms of Armed Forces world over which tempt future officers from as Gentlemen Cadets (GC) during training itself. Barring United Kingdom and United States of America where larger number of GC opt for glamorous and action thrilled service, but most of the Asians, South Africans and Middle East countries have shown new generation trends opting first for Services and logistics, ordnances and other supplies service, mechanical engineering of transport , thereafter as second choice the fighting arms and Infantry being last in the Preferred Order of Choice (POC). Even now Indian Military Academy has given various incentives to candidates to join infantry. As per the media reports, in June 2007 out of over four hundred GC passing out Parade, where President APJ Abdul Kalam took the salute, out of five best GCs, only one GC had applied for the services and none for Infantry.

The falling POC indicates about the change of mind set of new generation from changed theme of National Patriotism (NP) to Comforts of Life (COL). It is the COL which takes precedence over sacrifices and survival. It indicates the tilt towards individual officer's future course of action and line he is going to follow. The POC of new generation is so materialistic oriented that sometimes it becomes difficult for judges also to differentiate between arms to be allotted. Now a days PCO is governed by:

Comfortable life after commissioning;

Availabilities of opportunities to be exploited;

Less harsher and physically tough life demanding less body and mind exercises;

Most important family life after marriage;

Now days most of the youths join forces to fill the tummy

Youths become Patriotic by Default (PBD), thus, their POC is guided by Comforts of Post Commission Life (CPCL)

I would be sharing some of the findings of corruption in Army during my survey from previous three months:

1. A very common and famous saying especially by corrupt people is prevalent in the Army that is Quote "one, who does not get an opportunity is honest; otherwise ....". The same quote is also being circulated in every Government Office in the entire India as well.

2. As most of the corruption cases which are being investigated within Army involves various department dealing with Supplies, equipment procurement, building construction and accommodations. In addition, of late a new scandal has rocked Army Medical Corps also. In nut shell the places where procurement and supply for forces is involved, the corruption is prevalent.

Readers would agree with me that corruption in Army is mainly attributed to outside environment prevailing in the country. Various factors which affect corruption in Army would be debated in the next episiode. Request my readers to share their views at s_kalpna@hotmail.com

I, S Kalpna Sharma, am a freelance journalist who frequently writes on various issues relating to human values. My impetus of debate has been always focused on current issues which affect human life and social behavior. Whenever I debate on human values, my readers support base has widened.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=S_Kalpna_Sharma
Corruption in Army

Related articles:
Summary court-martial: a colonial legacy in Army
S K Sahni becomes first Lt-Gen to face court martial
Delhi High Court stays Lt Gen Sahnis court martial
Senior Army officer to face court martial

Army Officer Residences 1955 to 1985

Jalandhar as 2Lt
72 Napier Road where we had our mess was located was in a sprawling large compound with wheat and other seasonal crops cultivated by the owner of the property. The main building, an old nearly dilapidated bungalow had a few rooms that were occupied by the senior officers where as we the youngsters were banished the fully dilapidated old horse stable converted to leaky roof rooms. With no fans in the room and to survive the searing heat of Punjab. AJS and I sharing the room pooled our resources and rented a ceiling fan for a couple of summer months.

Pathankot as Lt
The Signal Section under technical control of 26 Div Signal Regiment located at Jammu had been dumped along with 40 Medium Regiment by some ignorant staff officer of Arty Directorate at Army Headquarters in a camping ground near Sujanpur at Pathankot at the height of the Monsoons. Next few months were sustained only by dreams of Rosy and me together; dreamt while asleep on the MES string- cot under the wet flaps of the tent at others listening to the constant pelting of the Monson rain on the tent. Pathankot was a semi- field station with no family accommodation. With permission one could bring the family and stay in something known by the generic name of ‘Basha' a structure with mud walls and a thatched roof constructed under own arrangement or if lucky move in by purchasing from some lucky officer leaving on posting. I was also in queue looking for some such accommodation falling vacant coinciding with Rosy finishing her final Examinations.

The hectic activity for a place to locate a house bore fruits. As luck would have it and by sheer chance I was fortunate to locate a two-room house, for the princely sum of Rupees 30 per month as rent, situated at the corner of Sujanpur Sericulture Farm, near the village of the same name and not far from the unit lines. It was secluded, insecure, lonely and totally unsafe from every angle, lonely and insecure in day and more so at night, yet it suited us to a ‘T’ nothing less than a heaven in our eyes. It was our first house and for her to run the way she wanted and me to pamper her. It was he missing purpose that back in life once again.

MHOW
Thanks for minor mercies that by the time half of the course was over I were permitted to call Jeet and Kalpana to Mhow under my own arrangements. I had managed a one room in the bungalow on Generals road with the good offices of Capt Jaswant Singh who also attending the course and staying in the same house. The Room a god- send though large enough for the three of us did become over- crowded and cramped at times with the dhobi sweeper maid the bearer and Mohan all milling about together, invariably I found my- self edged out . Fortunately after a few days an officially approved accommodation did fall vacant and we shifted to the one and a half room accommodation at DSO Press on Simrol road.

Jeet with Our one and a half room house
Our place soon became the meeting point for most of the bachelors on the course and some of the staff posted there to congregate in the process we did make some enduring friendships.

Jogender, Satish, Khurana and his Scooter, DSO Press Simrol Road. Dilapidated Bungalow background
Rarmgarh as Capt
A Cantonment town near Ranchi in Bihar where we of the Brigade, nobody's baby at that time, had been dumped for refitting, had miles and miles of family accommodation lying vacant; a forbidden apple to our hungry eyes. Though a family station we were not allowed to bring the families.

Ambala
The advance party had already taken over the accommodation for the Section and the bungalow for us an OP Amar construction the point however was that it was our first proper house with two bed rooms and a study fully furnished with MES furniture of course we had a good house in Ramgarh also a hutment but it was still our own.

Mhow
we landed at School of Signals on 2nd October 1963. Unlike the last time in School of Signals this time we had a house, a hutment, waiting for us to move in, it was a privilege of being on the staff.

Poona as Maj
Once again I had to leave Jeet and the two kids, Chotoo now about four years plus and Chotta still a toddler behind. It was becoming a routine by now; IAT had no married accommodation to offer to us. However, couple of months of separation later Rosy came to the rescue; her friend Kanta's husband Capt Sirohi was also doing a course at CEME and had a house allotted to him in Kirkee in the ammunition factory area who very kindly agreed to host us till we got a place of our own. On posting to ARDE, for the first time not only I had the opportunity of staying in proper accommodation and a choice of picking up from the half a dozen newly built unoccupied houses; a difficult proposition a problem of plenty; ultimately it was 26 The Pashan a lovely house which welcomed us and where we spent some of the best time of our life.

26, the Pashan, The Herald in background
Ranchi as Lt Col
More importantly than the hutment that I had been allotted my shifting the family to Ranchi with out his approval was strongly frowned upon by the GOC and in tandem by the AQ which was a real damper to my spirits. When the GOC gave me a baleful glare on this issue while interviewing me at Malhout I offered to send the family back to Dehradun which to some extent satisfied his ego.

Secunderabad
IDM had very thoughtfully arranged for some hired accommodations in Sanikpuri.

Delhi
Best that could be done was a single room in officers mess, what I was supposed to do about admitting my children in school and college, It was for me to locate a suitable house for hiring by the Administration. I did get, ultimately to move in to a suitable flat at SP Marg but by the it was time to move once again.

Mhow as Col
We had been allotted a hutment with the No T 214 marked in bold letter and figures on the Generals Road that was in an advanced dilapidated state, derelict, about to fall and with all rooms leaking during the monsoons. General’s Road was indeed a very prestigious sounding name. Lt Gen Sunderjee the Commandant College of Combat did live on the same road though alone in the appointment house a massive double story old bungalow.On the earlier posting to Mhow we had also lived in a hutment the only difference between then and now was the up-gradation from dry to waterborne sanitation a giant step in technology from 1963 to 1980.

Delhi as Brig
With difficulty and after a few months I managed a 2 room Flat on Curzon Road, later shifted to DK Part II on medical grounds of my daughter. All said and done it was good fun and as a soldier and a good soldiers wife we were happy with what we got when we got and had a chance to stay together.

Brig Lakshman Singh, VSM

Luxurious Houses? Read "Myths Busted" Link

Myths Busted

Dear Editor of Times of India,

1. This in reference to the article carried in your newspaper, New Delhi Edition, 30 Mar 2008 titled Cost to Govt 4 Times the salary on paper. Times of India: 4 times the salary on paper

2. I think the article is totally misleading and will spread misinformation amongst the masses! How has Ashish Sinha and XLRI Jamshedpur arrived at the conclusion that Cost to Government (CTG) of Armed Forces officers is 4.5 times of the salary is baffling. The conclusion is scandalous, blasphemous and in poor taste! Ironically, these are the same arguments which have been presented in the VI Pay Commission report while fixing the salaries of defence Forces officers. Let me decimate these so called 'intangibles' given by Ashish Sinha and possibly XLRI Jamshedpur in support of this conclusion one by one.

3. Housing : Where are these 'sprawling bungalows' in which the defence officers are supposedly living. Being an Army Wife of an officer who has had an unblemished 31 years career in the Army so far and who has not done so badly, I have never ever lived in any of these sprawling bungalows. We have been always been allotted dilapidated flats, crumbling at the seams and the houses and the colonies represent Bombay Chawls. Mostly even this sub- standard accommodation is not available and one has to make do with temporary arrangements ranging from a single room in a crumbling British era building, to a lower class of accommodation till one finally gets the authorised accommodation (Mind you it is 1500 square feet and not 3500 square feet as stated by the VI pay commission in its report). If one gets authorised scale of accommodation at all before one gets posted out. All this in the same station involving two to three shifting's in a two years tenure. The houses are poorly constructed to begin with and are maintained by an organisation called MES (Has XLRI interacted with MES?). The icing on the cake is provided by MES by simultaneously charging rent for all the accommodations (once occupied by you in this shifting process). It is often very late that one realises that one is supposedly occupying so many accommodations simultaneously on paper and being charged for them! The sorting out process which involves another such organisation as the MES, gives one a real taste of the bureaucratic process! So much for the sprawling bungalows!

4. CSD: What is available in the CSD and how much of these items does one buy monthly? The total items purchased per month do not cost more than Rs 600/- to 700/- and the saving accrued is not more than Rs 200/- per month i.e. if one discounts the effort involved to get to the CSD (i.e. when it is open) provided the required item is available and finally the quality is good and competitive brands and contemporary brands are available. With the retail revolution now taking place in the country, most of the times better stuff is available in the market at lesser or same rates and then these can be bought at 11.00 p.m at night! In my entire life as an army wife (25 years), I do not think we have saved more than Rs 70,000/- by buying things from CSD. This includes purchase of a car! So much for CSD contributing to 4.5 times CTG!

5. House Building Advance: Please tell XLRI Jamshedpur and Ashish Sinha to publish factual details of total housing loans taken by Army Officers from private banks (HDFC, ICICI) vis-à-vis the government loan. The details will be eye opener! Haat kangan ko arsi kya, parhe likhe ko pharsi kya! Had these Govt loans been so easily available and so lucrative, 90% loans would not be taken by officers from private banks!

6. 90 Days Leave: You need leave when you serve away from families. Let Ashish Sinha do a stint in a field area and probably then he'll start campaigning for even more leave for soldiers. Secondly, which soldier gets full quota of leave? Lastly, do not private companies give all expenses paid holidays to their employees? Any such parallel in a govt job?

7. Travel Passes: Need for travel arises only because one serves away from home. Even then, the annual saving on account of subsidised travel by any average army family (including travel not necessitated by service conditions and for personal purposes alone) cannot exceed Rs 4- 5 K annually. Mind you, this figure too is on the higher side!

8. I guess it has become rather fashionable to talk about the abnormal privileges being enjoyed by defence services. Some other so called perks have not been touched upon in your article hence I need not elaborate on those and make efforts to decimate them too. But I assure you that they too are all a fallacy and are easily torn to shreds.

9. Finally, I have one suggestion to make to the powers that be and to those who are responsible for perpetrating this fallacy that an army officer's CTG is 4.5 times his salary – please withdraw all such intangibles CSD, govt houses (ram shackles), free rations, form D and warrants, 50% air travel concession, (who travels and when?) orderlies and so on; and pay us 4.5 times of what has been proposed by the Sixth Pay Commission! Acceptable? I am sure I am voicing the opinion of bulk of the middle rung officers of the Army!

10. Please do publish our sheer disappointment with your esteemed newspaper for carrying such blasphemous articles! JAI HIND!

Nina Sachar
(Wife of Army Officer)

Forwarded by Brig PT Gangadharan (Retd)

Comments: The MOD needs to get the myths busted so that the general population actually get to know the quality and quantity/ quantum of perks that middle rung officers and Jawans of Defence Forces truly get on ground to what is entitled on paper. Is it possible for a corrupt bureaucratic system to deliver whatever perks are truly envisaged on paper? The defence forces personnel are fighting twin battles firstly the bureaucratic empire (including Red Tapism and corruption within and external) and secondly defending the Nation!