I was Helpless in Protecting Honest Officer: Karnataka Lokayukta
Bangalore, Jun 24 (IANS) : Karnataka Lokayukta (ombudsman) Santosh Hegde, who resigned in frustration Wednesday, expressed helplessness in protecting an honest officer from being suspended for exposing the disappearance of illegal iron ore seized by his team in March.
"A cabinet minister wanted an officer to be suspended for having exposed attempts to export illegal iron ore from Belekeri port that was seized by our team in a raid on March 20. When the officer sought my help, I could not do anything," an agitated Hegde told reporters after tendering his resignation to Governor H.R. Bhardwaj.
Singling out the mining lobby for indulging in illegal mining of iron ore in north Karnataka's Bellary district and the massive corruption behind such activities, an anguished Hegde said he could not continue to be a mute spectator when he was not able to protect an honest officer who was obeying his or his colleague’s orders.
"Is this the reward (for an honest officer)? My officers have suffered. I decided I should not continue if I cannot be their protector, especially when I know they are honest officers," asserted Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge and son of former Lok Sabha speaker K.S. Hegde.
Referring to the disappearance of five lakh tonnes of illegal iron ore valued at Rs.250 crore out of the 3.5 million tonnes seized in March, Hegde said the actual stock could have been five million tonnes.
"You can imagine what would have been the loss to the exchequer if the entire stock of 3.5 million or 5 million tonnes of iron ore had been exported or disappeared?
Assistant forest conservator Narendra Hittamalamakki, who was investigating the case, June 6 found five lakh tonnes from the confiscated stock missing from the Belekeri port where it was stored following a directive from a local court at nearby Ankola.
When port authorities learnt that the missing stock was illegally exported to China, the state mines and geology department ordered an inquiry.
The state forest department also filed a complaint in Ankola police station against 11 firms, which were under investigation for being involved in transporting illegal iron ore from Bellary mines.
As a quasi judicial anti-corruption investigation agency, the Lokayukta directed the deputy conservator of forests, Karwar, to register a case of theft and breach of trust against officials of the Belekeri port and customs authorities for allowing the seized material to be shipped without legal clearance.
The Karwar deputy conservator also complained to the chief vigilance commissioner against the customs officials for allowing the export of the seized iron ore from the stockyard.
In a related development, the Union Ministry of Mines directed the Indian Bureau of Mines to probe the disappearance of the seized iron ore, suspecting a nexus between the mining sharks and top state government officials.
A sense of defeat and despair
Bangalore, Jun 24 (DHNS): The Lokayukta has finally thrown up his hands in despair. In a typical response, when asked if he was giving up the fight against corruption, Santosh Hegde shot back saying that he had to be ''allowed to work'' to function effectively.
That summed up the tone of his press conference later, where the Lokayukta expressed his unhappiness at the government blocking his efforts to book corrupt officials. Angry, emotional, resigned.. this was the Lokayukta who vowed to continue his fight against corruption on a different platform. But at no point did he indicate that he was likely to change his mind about his resignation, if some of his longstanding demands were met.
Expressing his incredulity at an instance where a suspended officer (caught on charges of corruption) was reinstated to the same post, the Lokayukta said senior officers had stated that they were revoking the suspension of the officer because the Lokayukta went to the press in an angry tone against the reinstatement. “Suspension cannot be revoked on the anger or compliments of the Lokayukta,” he said.
The Lokayukta made repeated references to feeling powerless and being unable to make any concrete moves towards curbing corruption. “I feel helpless and useless,” he declared.
The latest move of the government to suspend an officer in Karwar who had carried out his duties in accordance to the wishes of the Lokayukta was the last straw. The reference was to the DCF of Karwar, R Gokul, who along with Lokayukta had seized iron ore worth crores from Karwar and Belakeri ports. Though Santosh Hegde neither named the officer or the Minister who was trying to get him suspended on the flimsy charges of not having attended a meeting, the Minister in question is allegedly the Environment Minister Krishna Palemar.
Lokayuktaspeak
- Yes, I may be doing injustice to people. It may be the other way round. It may be justice for some others.
- My decision is firm. I am not the one who will use resignation as a tool to blackmail the government.
- I feel helpless. Merely catching people won’t serve any purpose. Reinstating the same officials in the same position and in the same places even after the Chief Minister’s assurances of not doing so is a slap on the face of Lokayukta. How would a retired Supreme Court Judge feel about this?
- My father would always say, ‘If you are not wanted at any place, don’t stay there for a minute.’
- My resignation will not make any difference in my attitude of fighting corruption.
- If you want the Lokayukta institution to survive, appoint a Lokayukta and a Upa Lokayukta.
- At present, the Lokayukta institution is not available for the poor.
- If I can’t protect my honest officials, why should I be in power?. My helplessness in not helping honest officials poses physical and professional danger to them.
- The Government neglected, ignored and deliberately overruled the Lokayukta institution.
- I mentally suffered much during the last three months.
- Writing a letter seeking suspension of an honest official is a sin worse than being corrupt.
- Between 8000 to 9000 cases are awaiting action by Upa Lokayukta.
- Three defamation cases were registered against me. Two were dismissed. I will face the third one.
Reactions of prominent persons to resignation of Santosh Hegde
It is sad that Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde has resigned. The government has taken action on his report on illegal mining and the Action Taken Report (ATR) has also been released. However, I am unaware of the illegal export of iron ore from Karwar port, as alleged by the Lokayukta. The chief minister and senior ministers in his cabinet will discuss the development on Thursday.
V S Acharya, Home Minister
This is a black day in the history of the State. The Lokayukta is a man of impeccable integrity and honesty. When H D Kumaraswamy was the chief minister he tried to bring in an ordinance with regard to the same, which was not approved by the then governor.
H D Deve Gowda, former prime minister
Justice N Santosh Hegde is an upright man. I know him from past three decades. I have great admiration for him. It is very difficult to find his replacement. It is unfortunate that he has resigned.
Ashok Harnahalli, Advocate General
It is an unfortunate development. I think the State government should appeal to Justice Hegde to reconsider his decision in the interest of Lokayukta.
S Suresh Kumar, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs
I don’t know what prompted the Lokayukta to resign. He should have continued in the position considering the welfare of the people. The Lokayukta should not have taken a hasty decision, as the government is about to appoint Upa Lokayukta.
K S Eshwarappa, BJP state president
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa repeatedly said he would strengthen the Lokayukta institution by giving extra powers. But he never showed commitment to fulfil his assurance. The Lokayukta’s resignation is a slap on the face of the government.
R V Deshpande, KPCC President
Lokayukta Justice Hegde’s decision is prompted by the State government’s inaction to his reports on illegal mining. Principal Conservator of Forests U V Singh had also conducted a detail inquiry into illegal mining in the forest areas. But the government did not act on these reports leading to his resignation.
Siddaramaiah, Congress leader
Justice Santosh Hegde’s resignation is tragic and sad. His unrelenting efforts at improving standards of Governance by targetting corruption is a critical part of the checks and balances of our democracy and requires encouragement and boosting. I urge him to withdraw his resignation and urge the government to address the issues that the Lokayukta is concerned about - specifically the lack of action against those who have been chargesheeted by the Lokayukta.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP