The prosecution brought out in the trial that as SSO, the Colonel used to sign contracts on behalf of Station Commander and that he signed a ‘Conservancy Contract’ and ‘Grass cutting Contract’ and that there had been bungling in them.

A General Court Martial (GCM) has sentenced an Indian Army Colonel to five years of rigorous imprisonment, cashiered him from service and fined him Rs 10 lakhs after finding him guilty under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Col VPS Narula was posted as Station Staff Officer (SSO) at Narangi Military Station near Guwahati. He has been found guilty on eight charges, five out of which were under section 13(1)(e) and Section 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. One charge was for causing wrongful gain with intent to defraud under Army Act Section 52(f). Two charges were for improperly using labourers for private servants under Section 63 of the Army Act.

The court-martial was ordered by GOC 101 Area Shilong and the trial commenced on November 15, 2019 and concluded today. The Presiding officer of the trial was Brig Rajwant Singh, Dy GOC 41 Sub Area with four Colonels as members. Col Virender Singh (retd), a former Judge Advocate General department officer was the presecution counsel for the trial.

The prosecution brought out in the trial that as SSO, the Colonel used to sign contracts on behalf of Station Commander and that he signed a ‘Conservancy Contract’ and ‘Grass cutting Contract’ and that there had been bungling in them.

The annual grass cutting contract for Military Station Narangi for June 2017 was for Rs 5 lakhs. The contract money was to be deposited in the Station Cell Fund. The prosecution stated that the officer spoke to the contractor and told him that he can pay the contract money in installments and that too in cash directly to him and the receipt would be given after he had paid the complete money. The contractor paid him 5 lakhs in cash in seven installments till 16 April 2018. Thereafter he proceeded on leave without giving him the formal receipt.

In the meantime, the time for the next year’s contract came and tenders were opened. While finalization of the New Year contract, a need arose to see the last year’s contract rate but it was revealed that all the documents for the last year were missing from the file, which used to be in the custody of the accused.

On checking station cell accounts, it was revealed that no money had been deposited in the said fund. On inquiry from the contractor, he told that entire money was paid to the officer. Thereupon a court of inquiry was ordered. During the investigation by the court of inquiry, the officer deposited Rs 5 lakhs with the station fund.

The Colonel also signed the conservancy contract in Oct 2017 with one M/S Dynamic Services Company for outsourcing of 145 unskilled daily wage conservancy labourers for cleaning of Narangi Military Station and its satellite stations.

The officer was charged with having used the services of two labourers as domestic servant at his official residence at Narangi. The officer initially used the personal bank accounts of the two labourers to get the money from M/s Dynamic Services. The money used to be credited by M/s Dynamic Services in their accounts, which the two labourers used to withdraw in cash and hand over to the officer.

Thereafter, he asked both labourers to open new account and for opening the account the officer gave his own mobile number, E-mail ID and official residence address. He then obtained the bank documents viz cheque book, ATM Card, pass book inter-banking code etc. of these newly opened accounts from them. M/s Dynamic Services used to credit the money in these accounts regularly and he had been withdrawing/ transferring such money into his other account, his wife’s account and minor daughter’s accounts. He was found to be having 12 accounts in his name, his spouse’s name and two daughters’ names.

In the course of the trial, Col Narula denied the allegations levelled against him and said that he had never used the accounts of the two labourers. He examined his wife as defence witness who stated that she had invested money with the local partner of M/S Dynamic Services and the entire money in their banks

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 31

The Indian Air Force (IAF) achieved another milestone when an An-32 tactical transport aircraft powered with 10 per cent blend of Indian bio-jet fuel took off from the Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh, today. This is the first time that both engines of the aircraft were powered by the bio-jet indigenous fuel.

The aircraft was flight tested and its performance was validated at the Chandigarh Air Base prior to undertaking the operational flight to Leh, according to IAF sources.

Leh, at an altitude of 10,682 ft above mean sea level, is among one of the world’s highest and most difficult operational airfield and is prone to extreme weather conditions. Even during clear weather conditions, landing and taking off an aircraft at Leh is challenging due to reduced power output of the aircraft engines in the rarefied atmosphere, turbulent wind conditions and proximity to mountainous terrain.

Evaluating the performance of bio-jet fuel under these conditions is important from operational perspectives. It validates the capability of the aero-engine to operate smoothly with bio-jet fuel at the extremities of the operational envelope. The tests were conducted by a team comprising test pilots from the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment, Bengaluru, and pilots from the operational squadrons.

This successful test flight also demonstrates IAF’s capabilities to absorb newer technology, while sponsoring indigenisation. The technology to produce this fuel was developed by CSIR’s Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, in 2013, but could not be tested and certified for commercial use due to lack of concurrent aviation test facilities in the country. In 2018, the IAF sponsored this project and channelised its human and material resources for the complete range of fuel testing.

The IAF had first used biofuel blend in aircraft last year when an An-32 had flown over Rajpath in New Delhi during the Republic Day fly-past.

Bio-jet fuel is produced from non-edible “tree-borne oils”, grown and procured from the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh. IAF’s efforts would assist in reducing carbon footprint.

Another milestone

• This is the first time that both engines of the An-32 aircraft were powered by bio-jet indigenous fuel
• Leh, at an altitude of 10,682 ft above mean sea level, is among one of the world’s highest and most difficult operational airfield
• This successful test flight also demonstrates IAF’s capabilities to absorb newer technology, while sponsoring indigenisation
• Bio-jet fuel is produced from non-edible ‘tree-borne oils’, grown and procured from the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh

From the Indian perspective, it is indeed a horrifying prospect that Saudi Arabia and other petrodollar Gulf states, where around nine million Indians live, could become the theatre of any US-Iran conflict. As things stand, the question is not whether but when a conflict can be expected — that is, assuming Trump gets re-elected in November.

MK Bhadrakumar
Former Ambassador

The US drone strike on January 3 killing the Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, was a watershed event. The politics of West Asia changed course. And the consequences are going to be lasting. A new phase of tensions and proxy wars is erupting in India’s ‘extended neighbourhood’, which will inevitably impact our vital interests and core concerns. The prognosis doesn’t look good. We seem to be slowly moving towards a military conflict.

The salience of January 3 is that the US unilaterally changed the rules of the game in its standoff with Iran. The four-decade-old US-Iranian rivalry has had its low and high tides: tensions subsiding in melancholy, long, withdrawing retreat and then returning after recess with a grating roar flinging waves up the high strand.

However, through that tremulous cadence, there was an eternal note, namely, neither side ever sought out the enemy and executed him on sight. Soleimani’s killing in cold blood shocked Tehran and the entire region. Unless something gives way between now and the end of the year, of which not even incipient signs appear on the horizon, there isn’t going to be any certitude of peace.

Clearly, the US-Iran hostilities are entering uncharted waters. Tehran understands that the agenda of the Trump administration is nothing less than ‘regime change’. Iraq was Tehran’s Maginot Line, a Mesopotamian labyrinth of fortifications and obstacles and weapon installations that would deter the US and compel it into a long battle of attrition. Soleimani was the craftsman of the deterrence, while Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (killed alongside by the US drone) was its supervisor and manager acting as the deputy head of the Popular Mobilisation Committee (PMC) comprising the Iraqi militia network. By eliminating the two key commanders, US expects that the PMC will be thrown into disarray, which in turn would make possible the rollback of Iran’s predominant influence in Iraq — and debilitate its capacity to be the mainstay of the Assad regime in Syria — aside disorienting Tehran’s resistance politics as such.

The heart of the matter is that the US-Iran crisis is about the future of West Asia. The US’ exit from the 2015 nuclear deal was itself prompted not by Tehran’s non-compliance with the agreement but rooted in the geopolitical assessment that there was nothing stopping Iran’s surge as a regional power. The Trump administration concluded, egged on by its regional allies, that a revamped containment strategy against Iran was needed.Tehran, on the other hand, saw this (rightly so) as an existential struggle where the containment strategy against it cannot be countered without confronting the existing regional order imposed through American hegemony with the Saudi-Israeli underpinning.

Paradoxically, Iran gets besieged without an expansion of its regional influence. The way out of this logjam lies in offering to Tehran a full integration with the world economy and a ‘grand bargain’ to make it a stakeholder in regional security, which it has been keenly seeking. But then, Iran is a rich country and robustly independent, and its surge would render archaic the US hegemony in Muslim West Asia.

Thus, the Trump administration has preferred unilateral pressure to diplomacy and is demanding that Tehran should renounce all its regional ambitions and strategy — plainly put, ‘capitulate’. But the bleak scenario was mitigated by Trump’s stated aversion to new West Asian wars. However, Trump is now systematically expanding the troop and fighter presence in Saudi Arabia. A report in the Military Times last week said, “The return of US forces to Prince Sultan Air Base is one of the more dramatic signs of America’s decision to beef up troops in the Middle East.” The report quoted the US’ top commander for the Middle East, Gen Frank McKenzie as saying that any possible future conflict with Iran, “is not going to be a ground manoeuvre war, it’s going to be a war of fires, it’s going to be a war of ballistic missiles, a war of unmanned aerial systems and cruise missiles.”

The US has sought permission from Baghdad for deployment of Patriot missiles in Iraq. The intention is to deny Iran any strategic depth and defang it from retaliating against any US attack.

From the Indian perspective, it is indeed a horrifying prospect that Saudi Arabia and other petrodollar Gulf states, where around nine million Indians live, could become the theatre of any US-Iran conflict. As things stand, the question is not whether but when a conflict can be expected — that is, assuming Trump gets re-elected in November.

Iran’s strategic patience is legion, historically speaking, and it is playing the long game. Iran’s resistance to the US’ containment strategy will continue and diplomacy with the US seems remote while Trump is in office, but talks may begin, conceivably, once he leaves the White House.

Meanwhile, a flashpoint can arise over Iran’s nuclear activities in the coming months. A legal loophole recently came to light whereby Washington can still force the reimposition of UN sanctions set to expire next year under Resolution 2331. The point is, although Washington walked out of the 2015 nuclear deal, R-2331 was never amended to reflect its withdrawal.

Iran has forewarned that it will kick out international nuclear inspectors, resume additional nuclear activities and quit the NPT in the event of a ‘snapback’ of UN sanctions. In short, the Trump administration is in a position to manufacture a crisis and to seize the moment to hit the previously announced 52 targets in Iran. Trump may even consider it politically expedient to do so as a display of ‘decisive leadership’ in the middle of his re-election bid.

Guardians of Governance scheme was introduced two years ago for effective implementation of govt schemes and to check corruption

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, February 3

About two years after the state government introduced the Guardians of Governance (GoG) scheme for the effective implementation of various government schemes and to check corruption, members of the Punjab Panchayats’ Union, Faridkot, on Monday met Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, urging him to stop the interference of the GoG.

Alleging that the GoG was making unnecessary interference in the execution of various developments works and was leading to a delay in the completion of these works in rural areas, the union members gave a representation to the minister during his visit to Faridkot on Monday.

Introducing the GoG scheme about two years ago, the state government had engaged ex-servicemen, asking them to act as the eyes and ears of the Chief Minister in the effective implementation of various government schemes, particularly in rural areas, while ensuring that there is no leakage of funds, harassment of commoners and unnecessary bottlenecks. A Lieutenant-General (retd), who is a senior adviser to Punjab CM, is the chairman of the GoG.

Earlier in its election manifesto in January 2017, the state Congress had announced to launch a department of Guardians of Governance. This is a group of ex-servicemen from panchayats to blocks to districts, right up to the Chief Minister. This is a disciplined force, going to hopefully check the misuse of funds, the party had announced in its manifesto.

The department is under the CM and Guardians of Governance are to report to the CM about the implementation of various schemes.

However, two years down the line, many panchayats alleged that the GoG members were making unnecessary interference in their work. We have urged the minister to stop the interference of the GoG members in development works in rural areas, said Gurshwinder Singh, district president of the Faridkot unit of Punjab Panchayat Union.

Other than raising the GoG issue, the sarpanches urged the minister to provide independent labour wages to the panchayats for the execution of various development works at the village level. “At present, the state government has made it mandatory that for the execution of all development works in rural areas, the panchayats have to rely on the MGNREGA scheme to get skilled and unskilled labour,” said Gurshwinder Singh.

The members said, “Mostly, we face difficulty in getting the labour under the MGNREGA scheme due to delayed payment of wages and it was a big hurdle in the timely start and finishing of the work.”

They have also demanded an increase in allowances of the sarpanches, Rs 10,000 per month for sarpanches and Rs 5,000 for panches. They urged the minister to check the unwarranted interference of bureaucrats in their work and delay in releasing the grants.

Amritsar, february 4

With restoration work in full swing at Jallianwala Bagh, the authorities have decided to close it from February 15 to April 12. A notice in this regard has been put up at the entrance.

Officials say March 31 is the target date for completing the first phase of facelift. “The effort is to re-open it in its new avatar within the stipulated time frame. The visitors’ entry has been restricted so that the pace of ongoing work is not affected,” said an official.

The work of restoration and allied services, which is estimated to cost around Rs19.36 crore, is being carried out under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India.

A new exit point with 15-foot-wide gate has been created. The old structure around the martyrs’ well has been replaced with glass walls so that the visitors can have a clear view of inside of the well.

A new light and sound show system has also being installed. The 50-seat auditorium on the first floor is being revamped with a 3-D projection system to showcase documentaries.

The bullet marks on original structures and surrounding walls are being preserved. For beautification, new landscaping and lighting arrangements are being done. Facilities for the visitors are also being improved.

MP Shawait Malik, who is also a member of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, said the place would remain open till 9 pm after the completion of facelift. — TNS