Corruption has reached higher levels of government: CVC

30 Dec, 2009 1802hrs IST IANS

NEW DELHI: Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) Pratyush Sinha has admitted that corruption has now reached the "higher levels" of government and in high-profile cases there are delays in responding to various queries of the commission.

"If a senior official is involved, there is definitely a hesitation on the part of various government agencies to move quickly. So there are delays, we have to make extra effort to get all information which is required for a thorough enquiry," said the country's top anti-corruption watchdog.

Sinha also said the nature of corruption has changed and reached the top in government.

"Earlier, we used to see decentralized corruption, which means corruption at lower levels. Today, corruption is known more in cases of major public procurements and dispensation of various services at a higher level," Sinha told a TV channel in an interview.

"Powerful ministries like petroleum, civil aviation, power are now dealing directly with big corporate houses. This is a new trend in India," said the official.

Citing the Ruchika Girhotra case in which a former Haryana director general of police is a main accused, Sinha said "any abuse of personal authority must be prevented at any cost."

"This (Ruchika case) is a very bad example of what somebody can do with the system and get away. Unfortunately, we have the rules and regulations, but they are not strictly enforced. Even today, there are rules in place and if government is sincere in enforcing, then such events would not take place," said the official.

5-day remand for HPCL depot manager, driver

TNN, Aug 27, 2009, 02.56am IST

JAIPUR: A day after a depot of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) in Sitapura industrial area was raided by CBI and embezzlement worth lakhs of rupees was unearthed, the agency, on Wednesday, recovered property documents and cash worth Rs 82 lakh from the house of the depot manager Arun Kumar. The CBI also arrested the driver of the diesel tanker, identified as Rajendra Singh, from the Dudu area when he was allegedly trying to sell the stolen diesel. The depot manager and the driver were produced in a local court which sent them to five-day police remand.

The CBI team had found 1.28 lakh litre petrol and 4, 000 litre diesel stored in the depot tankers without their entry in the account books. According to CBI officials, the house in Shashtri Nagar of Arun Kumar, who had been arrested on Tuesday night, was raided by CBI official. "During the night-long search of the house, we recovered Rs 4.28 lakh cash and the documents of properties worth Rs 78 lakhs from the house," said a CBI official.

He added that Arun Kumar owns a plot worth Rs 9 lakh at Sahara City in Shivdaspura, a flat worth Rs 5 lakh in Malviya Nagar sector 15, a house worth Rs 28 lakh in Vaishali Nagar RACB colony, two plots worth Rs 16 lakh in Manglam City on Sikar Road and a house worth Rs 19 lakh in the Panchyawala area.

On a tip-off, a CBI team arrested Rajendra Singh and recovered a diesel tanker from Balisod village in the Dudu area on Wednesday. "He was trying to sell the diesel stolen from the depot," said the official.

The depot had been closed one year ago and irregularities were carried out by stealing petrol and diesel after showing the volume of stolen oil vaporized due to high-temperature.

"The tankers which used to come for filling of petrol and diesel were kept in the open under sun due to which the tanker would show the quantity of oil more than it actually was," the officer added.

He said that as the depot had closed and was being shifted to the Bassi area, the depot manager tried to sell the stored oil in bulk. There were just two more technicians working in the depot.

"We are interrogating the accused for further information," the official said.

MARKER-KEROSENE

During his recent visit to India, Mr.Bill Gates said that “There is no point in accumulating wealth if it does not take care of primary health of the poor.” The UPA Government, always reiterate its commitment to the poor and common man. In this regard, the Government always boasts of providing kerosene to nearly 6.5 million BPL families at hugely subsidized rates. It is also matter of fact and record the Government of India, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has not revised PDS-Kerosene prices. On one hand, this a noble gesture of the Government, however the greedy Minister and the bureaucrats in order to fill their own coffers do not hesitate to resort to the measures leading to killing these 6.5 million BPL families by adding marker to PDS Kerosene. As per a report submitted by Sh.A.K.Bhatnagar, Advisor,R&D of HPCL in the year 2005 that this Marker mixed with kerosene could expose to cancer-causing fumes. As per the Environment Protection Act, 1986, it is the mandatory requirement to carry out Environment Impact Assessment for introduction of an extraneous substance, i.e. Marker in Petroleum Products. Sh.Murli Deora, Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas in collusion with Sh.M.S.Srinivasan, then Secretary, P&NG, and the Oil PSU Managements awarded a contract of worth Rs.200 crores to M/s.Authentrix Ltd. U.K., and their Indian agents, M/s.SGS, Mumbai on nomination basis (single quotation), violating the statutory procedures cited below:-

1. Huge contract of the value of Rs.200 crores awarded without issuing global tenders and without even doing the basic work of preparing specifications and cost estimates.
2. Private company personnel illegally assigned to perform statutory functions under the Essential Commodities Act,1955- authority of those accorded powers of search and seizure got undermined.
3. Conferring illegal statutory powers to private persons shall undermine the prosecution and administrative action process and will thus help adulterators.
4. No requisite exercise done to prepare the estimated cost of the proposed work based on which further modalities of purchase is done- violations of CVC Circular.
5. No Environment Impact Assessment was done for introduction of an extraneous substance, i.e. Marker in Petroleum Products- violation of Environment Protection Act, 1986.
6. Chemical composition of Marker kept secret to suppress the real cost of the chemical vis-à-vis the price paid – criminal prosecution of the adulterators to be done on the basis of secret chemical- no person can be deprived of his liberty based on a secret test process- violation of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
7. Statutory procedure for testing given in Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005, - statutory procedure bypassed and replaced by the procedure imposed by a private company.
8. Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell, whose job was only to conduct a study and to frame specifications, was made to exceed its brief and thereby recommended the names of M/s.Authentrix Ltd., U.K. and M/s. SGS Ltd. for the contract.
9. No approval was taken from the State authorities under the Standards of Weights and Measurements Act, 1976.
10. The credentials of the M/s.SGS were not ascertained before order was given.
11. No approval of Finance Ministry was taken.
12. Renewal of contract done by repeating the violations of laws detailed therein.

Ashok Singh, Convenor, Oil Sector Officers’ Association and Sh.R.P.Srivastava, Co-ordinator, OSOA, have been working tirelessly to eliminate corruption and adulteration from the Oil Sector. Lodged a formal complaint with Joint Director, CBI, Western Region and requested to register a regular case against the above accused persons on 12^th May, 2008.

· 3 days after the complaint was lodged, Ashok Singh was suspended and later dismissed from service by HPCL. Sh. Srivastava was also suspended and dismissed from service.

· The issue was taken by Simpreet Singh as Public Interest Litigation with the Hon’ble Bombay High Court, where upon the CBI agreed before the Hon’ble Court that they would investigate the matter. Accordingly, the CBI registered the case vide PE/BA1/2009/A0001 against the accused persons.

· Ashok Singh and R.P.Srivastava requested the Central Vigilance Commissioner to provide them protection under Para 6 of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, Government of India, No. 371/12/2002-AVD-III dated 21^st April,2004 Resolution- VICTIMISATION OF A WHISTLEBLOWER.

· The above resolution is the outcome of an order from the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in case of a PIL filed in the matter of murder of Sh. Satyendra Dubey, an engineer of NHAI.

· Ashok Singh and Srivastava had a series of meetings with the Vigilance Commissioner, Sh. Sudhir Kumar. The Vigilance Commissioner assured Sh. Singh and Sh. Srivastava and also the representatives of the Oil Sector Officers’ Association that this is a open-and-shut (established) case of corruption and he would take prompt and stern action against the accused persons. Sh. Kumar further told the delegation in its meeting on 22.07.08, that he would provide necessary protection to Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava.

· However, to the utter shock of Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava, they received a letter dt- 31.10.08 from a Director in the Central Vigilance Commission declining them protection as a whistleblower and advising that since the complaint is lodged before the CBI, hence they would not be given any protection.

· The above argument of the Commission is contrary to the spirit of the Resolution itself. During the period, it also became clear that the Commission is working under the influence of Sh. Murli Deora and Secretary Petroleum. CVC has completely failed in discharging their duties and have betrayed the trust posed in the Commission by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

· It became evident on 04.01.09 when Sh, Murli Deora called up Sh. Ashok Singh from his official residence number- 011 24693941, threatening him not to pursue the matter any further. He went on to add that Sh.Sudhir Kumar is a personal friend of his and Ashok Singh should not expect any justice from Sh.Sudhir Kumar.

· With the blessings and active support of Sh. Deora and his Ministry officials, HPCL Management continued to commit atrocities and illegalities against Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava. The height of atrocities resulted into illegal dismissal of Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava on 12.03.09 from the service of HPCL.

· Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava filed a case against Sh.Murli Deora and seven other Respondents including Central Vigilance Commissioner.

· Sensing serious trouble for himself, Sh.Deora approached Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava on 07.06.09 and tendered his unconditional apologies for all the atrocities committed by him in collusion with HPCL Management. Sh.Deora requested Sh. Singh that he be forgiven for all his misdeeds and even if he forgives, the God may not forgive him. Sh.Deora further assured Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava that he would initiate stern action against C&MD, HPCL, for taking illegal action against Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava.

· Sh.Deora personally met Sh.Singh on 13.06.09, and 14.06.09 at his residence in Delhi and reiterated the same assurance. During the said meeting, Sh.Singh reported several cases of corruption against Sh.Arun Balakrishnan, C&MD od HPCL. However, Sh.Deora insisted that Sh. Singh should not pursue these corruption cases and he would reinstate Sh.Singh and Sh. Srivastava in the services of HPCL. Sh.Deora further told Sh.Singh that during these 13 months, Sh. Singh could not get any support from any authority, including the top leadership of Congress Party. It is a matter of record and fact that Sh.Singh was categorically conveyed by the leadership of Congress Party not to raise the issue of corruption. It is shocking to note that the Government which boasts of zero-tolerance of corruption and also proposes to bring an Act to replace the existing Resolution to protect the whistle-blowers, in reality, they only protect their corrupt Ministers and Bureaucrats.

· The purpose of this article is to bring awareness amongst the honest, upright, promising nationalists not to fall prey to the false promises of the Government of India, Central Vigilance Commission and other Government Agencies. These above named agencies are real wolves in the façade of angels.

We appeal to the readers of this article to watch a forth-coming movie ‘Carnage By Angels’ produced by an eminent crusader against corruption, Sh.Y.P.Singh who resigned from the I.P.S. to fight against corruption. Let all right-thinking people join hands today to fight against the cancer of corruption which is not even sparing the poorest of the poor, i.e. the user of PDS-Kerosene. It is our moral duty to fight against this corrupt system so that we do not allow the innocent 6.5 million families to fall prey to the greed of these wolves and die of cancer. Let us learn a lesson from the Father of the Nation and get freedom for the country from corruption by launching a nation-wide movement.

Long Live the Spirit of Whistle-blowers of the country!! Jai Hind!!!

CBI case against Corrupt IAS Officer

CBI case against Corrupt IAS Officer

IAS official, Secy MOPNG under Net of CBI now!

CBI registers case against Former Petroleum Secretary Shri M.S. Shrinivasan, IAS, Mssrs. Authentrix Limited and senior officers of IOC, HPCL and BPCL on the initial complaint made by whistleblower Ashok Singh, Regional Manager HPCL.& R.P.Srivastava Sr. Mgr.(ops)

CBI has registered a corruption case against the former Petroleum Secretary Shri M.S. Srinivasan for having favoured a British Company Mssrs. Authentrix Limited. The other accused persons are the officials of IOC, BPCL and HPCL.

This complaint was originally lodged by Shri Ashok Singh, then serving Regional Manager HPCL in May 2009 with the CBI. Three days after the complaint was lodged, Shri Singh was suspended and later dismissed from Service by the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation of India (HPCL).

This issue was taken by Simpreet Singh, the undersigned, as a Public Interest Litigation with the Bombay High Court whereupon the CBI agreed before the Court that they would investigate the matter. Accordingly, the CBI registered a case vide PE/BA1/2009/A0001. The letter of the CBI in this respect is attached hereto.

The Brief facts of the complaint are detailed hereunder:
5.0 BRIEF FACTS:
5.1 For the reason of making an effective system of detection of adulteration in the petroleum products, a study was conducted, somewhere in the year 2005, by Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell, which is under the direct control of Accused No. 1. Pursuant thereto, teams were sent to U.K. and Kenya to study the systems which were prevailing there.

5.2 It was clear that the brief and duty of this Cell was only to conduct an academic study about the technical aspects of using the marker system, so that specifications could be defined based on which global tenders could have been called.

5.3 However, it was seen that instead of preparing such specifications, this Cell, apparently on the instructions of the Accused No. 1, sent a letter on 21st October, 2005, to all the Public Sector Oil Companies instructing them to examine the commercial proposal of Accused No. 2, Mssrs. Authentix. Hereto annexed is the copy of the said letter and the same is marked as EXHIBIT-"A".

5.4 As per the report prepared by this Cell, Mssrs. Authentix, with the help of an executing agency in India, namely, SGS, would conduct marking for Petroleum products by mixing it with chemical markers. They would also conduct the statutory functions of checking the petrol pumps for adulteration, taking samples and testing them.

5.5 Based on this report, on 5 July, 2006, Accused No. 1, conducted a meeting of the three public sector oil companies. Thereafter, the said Accused No. 1 gave the following orders through the minutes circulated vide letter dated 12th July, 2006:

“IOC would coordinate on behalf of the Industry and finalise the modalities/contract and ensure placing of orders/signing of contracts or agreements with Mssrs. Authentrix”. (Emphasis supplied).

5.6 For the reason of the aforesaid instructions, representatives of the 3 public sector oil companies, on 26th July, 2006, conducted a meeting. Pursuant thereto, they decided to grant the contract to Accused No. 2 and 3. In this meeting, detailed modalities were worked out as to how to effect the execution of this contract by placing orders with Accused No 2 and 3.
5.7 After the aforesaid decision was taken contracts were awarded to Accused No. 2 and 3, by HPCL, BPCL and IOC, initially for a period of one year which has been extended by another one year. The aggregate value of the contract for two years is about Rs. 200 crores.

5.8 From, the aforesaid, it is seen that the accused persons, by indulging in a criminal conspiracy, abused their official position and violated the laws of the land. Accordingly, they have committed a clear-cut offence under section 13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

6. CONCLUSION: While the accused persons have been booked but something need to be done for the act of those accused persons who had dismissed the whistleblowers from Service and who suspended Shri Ashok Singh just 3 days after the lodging of CBI complaint. Such whistleblowers need to be protected for the sake of transparent administration.

7. For further details contact the undersigned at 9969363065. For more details on legal aspects please contact our lawyer Shri Y.P. Singh at 9820233791.

8. The original complaint and the letter of CBI dated 27.5.09 is attached.
Simpreet Singh

yogeshpratapsi., ashoksingh2227

show details 6/10/09

Failure of Authentix marker system caused by human corruption, not inefficiency of doping agent

June 10: 8It appears that the petroleum ministry's decision to discontinue the use of the marker system developed by UK-based Authentix for detection of SKO adulteration in MS and HSD was taken on account of the ease with which the marker was "launderable under lab conditions", through human tampering, rather than any actual failing of the marker itself. This was observation was made a presentation in the petroleum ministry. At the time when the marker was being selected, the catch rate with the Authentix system -- at 0.51% -- was found better during field trials than the detection rate with traditional methods, which was just 0.05%.
8During the period from February, 2007, to March, 2008, for example, a total of 116,783 inspections were carried out at ROs using the marker system. Adulteration was detected in only 204 ROs. Furthermore, there were instances -- 122 cases -- where retail outlets refused to permit marker audits. The marker system also found 242 cases of adulteration in tankers ferrying petrol and diesel. This implied that the strike rate using the marker system was around 0.51%, whereas through using conventional methods, the industry strike rate during inspections of 182,524 ROs was a mere 61 cases, or just 0.05% in 2007-08. But though the strike rate was higher using the marker system, it was still nowhere near the level of adulteration estimated by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in its landmark study, which said that 36.8% of kerosene supply is diverted for adulteration purposes.
8So what went wrong? The evidence seems to indicate that adulteration of MS and HSD by unscrupulous elements continued largely unchecked during the two years in which the Authentix marker system was used, thanks to the adulterators being hand in glove with those responsible for checking adulteration. Though the marker manufacturer made the point that adulteration did indeed come down drastically after the introduction of the marker on account of fear of being caught, the differential between the recorded cases and NCAER data was too large to be explained by this argument alone. This fact was brought to the notice of the petroleum ministry at the time when a review of the continuation of the marker system was under consideration. Accordingly, the marker was discontinued with effect from January 1, 2009, and the OMCs were directed to find a more efficient marker system through a global Expression of Interest. This process is still underway and it is learned that three suitable candidates have been short-listed for carrying out field trials. (Click on Details for more information) Details

BELOW NOTED NEWS OF 4.6.09

Kerosene Marker Project: Is the government ignoring environment and health hazards?

June 3: 8The government's attempt to reintroduce the Kerosene Marker Project (KMP) is, again, shrouded in controversy, as doubts have emerged over the acceptability of the type of technology expected to be employed to detect the presence of kerosene in petrol and diesel. It has been claimed that the oil marketing companies (OMCs) are keen on deploying X-ray fluorescence spectrograph (XRF) to this end, markedly an unproven methodology. In fact, it is claimed, that this technology has been sidelined by various countries, including the USA, as it necessitates the addition of halogenated compounds in the fuel, thereby posing a great risk to health and environment. XRF technology is also said to be expensive, since it involves the use of activated charcoal, which can only be removed through a blending plant. The cost-benefit ration of this methodology, thus, does not appear to be favorable.
8Such concerns have been voiced since January 2009, when the government invited global Expression of Interest (EOI) for selecting an efficient marker system. A technical committee was formed, and various companies were invited to showcase their respective technologies before the committee. Of all the technologies showcased, apparently, only the XRF technology was deemed acceptable to the committee. Notably, a total of six companies are eying the contract for supply of marker system. These are: Nandan Petroleum, which is representing GFI, Kematech-Anarchem, Johnson Mathey, Energenics, Authentix and SGS-implementation. The technical bids for the contract are scheduled to be opened on June 4, 2009. (Click on Reports for more information) By Neeraj Dhankher

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8, ShoorjVi allabhdaMs arg,P N. No. '155,M umbai- 4000 01.T el.: 22637 000. Fax: 022-22611 822. Telegram: Hindpetoff

e-mail : mkghqo@hpcl.co.in

To,

SGS India Pvt. Ltd.

Oil, Gas & Chemicals Services,

SGS House,

48, Adi ShankaracharyaM arg.,

Vikhroli (W),

Mumbai-400 083

O&D / HCM

Date: 17.10.2008

Ref.: Your offer dated0 1.09.2008fo r supplyo f AuthentixM arker Systemf or 3 months

Commencinfgr om 01.1 0.2008

Sub.: Letter Of Intent

Dear sir,

With referencet o your aboveo ffer dated0 1.09.2008,w e are pleasedt o place the LOI on you

against the above offer with the following rates and quantities for the period 01.10.2008 to

31.12.2008:

Sr.

No.

Item description Ouantitv Unit Basic Rate

Rs. Per Unit

Basic Cost (Rs.)

I Marker 2777 Litres 10000/- 27770000.00

2 Test kits 13 Each 2400/- 31200.00

a

J IAS Columns 1250 Each 867t- 10837s0.00

Total Cost 288849s0.00

Excise Duty, VAT and local levies are as applicable. The scope, all terms and conditions are

as per the purchaseo rdern o.8000029-ON-11001d ated1 1.07.2008p lacedo n you earlier.

Thanking you,

tions

Dear RTI Activist friends, 30th Jan. 2011

Saprem Namaskar to all of you from comrade Ajeet Grover mob. no. 9896589120 , email id ajeetgrover59@gmail.com, friends you receive guidance from various RTI forums from time to time and suggestions sought.The story of Whistle Blowers Sh. R.P.Srivastava Mob. no. 9820183924 email id ravi 4354@gmail.com and and Sh. Ashok Singh Mob. no. 9820142282 email id ashoksingh2227@gmail.com was published in MERA PANNA magazine in their Dec. 2010 edition on page 14. which is titled as "where these whistle blowers should go" .These brave officers have exposed a corruption of Rs.200 cr. in the purchase of marker scam by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas for which they have been removed from service of HPCL. Friends this is not an isolated case there are several officers/employees who have been victimised like this for exposing corruption by senior officers , when they took up the matter unitedly and forced they were honorably reinstated .This is a fact that there is thin line between success and failure like 1 mark difference in pass& fail..You must have got the message , All those activists who have assembled here are requested to help their brethren working across the country and victimized, by supporting and helping them

My brief story is I had sought information with regard to purchase of Tools in 1993-94by ITI deptt. of Haryana for which double price was paid, though desired info was provided I was subjected to a life threatening assault on 27.05.08 and removed from service on 11.7.08.Due to a prompt action Chief minister Haryana made up a plan to visit Hissar on 4.4.2010,same day I got 3500 pamphlets printed and distributed to all Punjabi leaders present in the meeting and also to Public at large .The result same day, not only Director was replaced, even commissioner and Dy. Commissioner were also transferred .A rescheduled personal hearing on 12.4.10 , commissioner dictated order of my honorable reinstatement and paid all back wages for 22 months on 12.11.2010.One Driver whistle blower Sh. Rajendra yadav No. D-90 was also reinstated..

Friends, this is a battle of wits, which will result in showdown to one side, so long as we are not united no law even "whistle blower protection" Act will not benefit any of us.

With sincere Thanks

Comrade Ajeet Grover