No passport to J&K govt employees without vigilance clearance

Amid reports that some ‘tainted’ employees have managed to leave the country without facing trials, Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday made vigilance clearance mandatory for its employees to obtain a passport.

“The passport to the citizens including Government employees is issued on the basis of verification carried out by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The current system does not contain any mechanism that would help deny the passport to such employees who are either under suspension or facing departmental inquiry or prosecution on account of serious charges,” reads an order issued by the J&K General Administration Department (GAD).

Currently, a government employee is only required to inform his employer for applying for a passport in a prescribed format and taking advantage of it, some employees, facing serious charges, have managed to leave the country after obtaining a passport.

The GAD order says the guidelines for obtaining a passport have been reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel & Training, Government of India in consultation with the Central Vigilance Commission and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

As per the order, elaborate instructions have been issued for obtaining fresh vigilance clearance while considering the grant of passports to government employees.

“Anti Corruption Bureau, J&K has also brought into the notice of the Government that the present mechanism for issuance of passport to employees without obtaining requisite vigilance clearance results in the issuance of passport to those employees against whom vigilance cases are pending. Thus, there is an urgent necessity to instruct all the departments to issue the NOC for issuance of passport on the basis of vigilance clearance only,” the GAD order reads further.

Accordingly, all the administrative departments/heads of departments have been asked to mandatorily obtain the latest vigilance clearance in respect of an employee applying for obtaining a passport.

Last month, the J&K administration had directed the departments to deny security clearance to passport verification for those found involved in law and order and stone-pelting cases.

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