SCOPE

SCOPE’s Good Governance Activities: 1999-2005

Over the years, SCOPE has pursued various public interest matters with the government and in the Courts. SCOPE has successfully alerted senior government officers to correct corruption in the State-level organizations responsible for 1) Public Distribution and Price Control, 2) Transportation, 3) Weights and Measures, 4) Traffic Police the 5) Indian Railways (Gov’t of India), 6) Indian Airlines (Gov’t of India) and the 7) Department of Telecommunications (Gov’t of India).

Our experience of dealing with the government in these initiatives has taught us that the only effective means of countering corruption is through the Courts, since it is the sole forum where the cases can be openly discussed in all their dimensions and where the concerned agencies and departments must answer for their actions. In the past, SCOPE has used the Media in conjunction with the Legislative Assembly to pin offending departments and agencies on these corruption and mal-administration cases. However, the members of SCOPE have learnt how easy it is for these entities to evade truthful answers without the legal pressure of court testimonies, affidavits, and subpoenas to discourage misleading and dishonest statements before the public.

Indeed, one of SCOPE’s legal initiatives included a PIL in the J&K High Court against the Directorate of Health Services of Jammu for failing to conduct the “pulse polio” vaccination campaign of 2000 due to an employee strike and subsequent paralysis in re-scheduling the vaccination campaign. SCOPE’s court intervention led to a court order to the Directorate of Health Services of Jammu demanding that the pulse polio campaign be rescheduled. As consequence of SCOPE’s legal initiative, the pulse polio campaign in Jammu was performed 4 days later. Another SCOPE legal initiative includes public interest litigation to order the J&K Government to monitor and prosecute fly-by-night investment and finance schemes, and to have the private properties of the company directors attached to the courts to compensate fleeced investors. This case was filed 8 months ago and is ongoing.

Another legal initiative includes a PIL in the Jammu & Kashmir High Court to computerize the land records of the state to prevent the common practice of covertly manipulating the land records for illegal gain. Three years ago, the World Bank provided the GOI with a grant to computerize the land records across all the states. A subgrant was given to the J&K government, but it was never implemented. Computers and support equipment were purchased, but never installed. Meanwhile, the computerization funds were stolen by IAS officers in J&K who oversaw the grant. This PIL was filed with the J&K High Court 8 months ago and is ongoing. The case recently received a hearing (March 17, 2005).