26th Feb. 2013 To Hon'ble Lt. Governor National Capital Territory of Delhi New Delhi Sub.

Regarding biased inquiry into Unipole issue Respected Sir, This is with reference to Inquiry report forwarded by Commissioner EDMC and submitted to him by Shri J.B. Singh in respect to irregularities, negligence of duty and corruption in EDMCs advertisement department. I am deeply disappointed and sad by the manner Mr. J.B. Singh has tried to not only save his fellow officials but has also ignored the facts, violated all principals of independent inquiry and has even praised and appreciated the officials who were caught red handed during that surprise visit in presence of media. Through this report he is not only trying to favour the officials responsible for illegal unipoles in the EDMC area but is also trying to bluff the people, media, elected representatives, Commissioner of EDMC, Director Local Bodies and Honble Lt. Governor, who all are keenly observing the progress in this case. Here are some obvious questions and observations:1. First of all, I would like to ask why Mr. J.B. Singh was given the

responsibility to carry out the inquiry when we have a specialized vigilance department for the same. From the report it is very clear that Mr. J.B. Sing was not only handling his regular EDMC work but has some extra responsibilities as well like Election Duty in Tripura (Page no. 4, Point 9). Why the responsibility of Inquiry into such a serious issue has been given to an officer who was available only part-time for this inquiry and not to the vigilance department that has required skill, expertise and experience of carrying out similar inquiries?

2. Why an officer that has a close working relationship with officials

under inquiry has been asked to carry out the inquiry? I am raising these questions not only because it is in violation of basic principles of independent inquiry and justice but also in this specific case, this is an important reason behind the biased nature of this inquiry.
3.

In his report Mr. J.B. Singh has gone into history of advertisement department and work in last 7 months. I am not able to understand the purpose behind this as he was asked to inquire into specific cases of illegal unipoles only. Throughout his report he has tried to draw a colourful performance chart of the advertisement department officials. Let me remind him here that improvement in performance has taken place in all EDMC departments in last Ten months and that cant be a justification for irregularities, negligence and corruption. surprise visit which has exposed the high number of illegal unipoles, same officials were asked to carry out Inspection against whom the inquiry was being conducted.

4. The most shocking part of the inquiry is that next day of my

5. In my letter to Commissioner, I have clearly written that five

officials including the Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Officer, Chief Advertisement Officer (CAI), and two area inspectors should be suspended to ensure a fair and independent inquiry. Out of these five, Four Officials were part of the inspection team that was asked to submit a report on the status. And to begin with, this inspection was directed by the Deputy Commissioner, the fifth officer in the list. (Pls refer to Annexure C, Para. 1)
6. Same officials were carrying out the inspection against whom the

inquiry was being conducted and Mr. J.B. Singh has not only happily accepted their report but is also highlighting the fact that inspection team has found only 6 illegal unipoles next day. What else was he expecting from the people under inquiry? This is clear violation of all guidelines and principles of independent inquiry and can not be accepted.
7. Another shocking aspect of this inquiry is that Mr. J.B. Singh has

tried to carry out this investigation by solely depending upon the facts given to him by officials under inquiry. He has never tried to reach out to media teams who have covered the surprise

visit and have exposed the rampant irregularities, nor has he reached out to any elected representative of that area.
8. Another very shocking and hard to believe fact about this inquiry is

that throughout his inquiry report Mr. J.B. Singh has stressed on the fact that there were only 6 illegal unipoles found by inspection team and my complaint has no evidence, however he conveniently forgets to mention that EDMCs Commercial Officer Mr.Vinit Gautam himself has written letter to four police stations on 16th Jan. 2013, asking to register cases against 10 commercial units for illegal unipoles. The question is if the inquiry report is right and there were only 6 illegal unipoles found by the team, then why the case has been registered against 10 commercial units? This is just one more example of how Mr. Singh has mentioned only convenient facts, and completely ignored even the reports and facts which were out there in media and public domain.
9. Mr. J.B. Singh has come to my office on 21st of January for few

minutes and has hurriedly summed up his report on 24th Jan. 2013. I was also surprised why suddenly almost two weeks after the surprise visit Mr. J.B. Singh is asking me to give my version. All this while the officials were given a free hand to play with the facts, carry out their own inspection.
10. In his report point no. 14, Mr. J.B. Singh has even used some highly

objectionable and careless language about me, if the matter was so important, she should have.etc. The language is not only derogatory to the Public Post that I am currently serving but is also an attempt to divert the attention from the real issue under inquiry. It is difficult to understand what he is trying to prove here. a. Does he as inquiry officer was of the view that the matter is not important?
b. Was he ignorant of the fact that it was me as Mayor of East

Delhi who has organized a surprise visit and exposed the corruption?
c. This is a clear attempt to questioning back the whistle

blower.
d. If this is the attitude of Inquiry Officer towards me, I can

imagine how difficult would it be for a common man to lodge a complaint and get an independent inquiry.

11.

Now coming to the very basic flaws in this inquiry report:I. At point no. 7 in his report, Mr. J.B. Singh has mentioned a letter to UP irrigation department sent by EDMC but in the annexure he fails to provide any proof of that letter. Only letter in the annexure to UP irrigation by EDMC is dated on 1101-2013, three days after the surprise visit. What made Mr. Singh to believe and even mention such a letter in his report without even seeing a copy of the same as an inquiry officer? Mr. Singh has repeatedly talked of inspection visit by officers under inquiry and based on that inspection report and only by facts given by same officials, he has concluded that the complaint is not established. More than 40% part of his report is all about history and how well the advertisement department is functioning, the purpose of same is still unclear in an inquiry report like this. At point no. 6, in his report Mr. Singh has talked about actions by advertisement department against unauthorized advertisement. Here again, he has solely relied upon the facts shared by same officials who are under inquiry. He should have provided the details of these actions including team members who have gone for the action, their attendance records, records of vehicles used for these actions, records of items seized by EDMC during these actions etc. While all the time was given to officials under inquiry, Mr. Singh has not given me time to share some of the evidence that I have neither has he approached any media channels or reporters who have extensively covered the expose. Mr. Singh was in hurry to save his colleagues, and may be that was the objective was he has been given the responsibility to carry out investigation, ignoring the expertise of vigilance department.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

It seems that instead of carrying out an independent inquiry, Mr. J.B. Singh was trying to write a cover up story.

This report is nothing but failed attempt of a writer trying to write a fiction and ending up writing a comedy script with a sad end. This inquiry report is clearly an attempt to cover up the irregularities and corruption and highlights the deep rooted nexus between corrupt officials. This report also highlights the need for independent vigilance and investigation in all such cases. What all the more disappointing is that this report has been forwarded to me by the Commissioner EDMC. I am sure due to his busy schedule; he was not able to read this report as it was not possible for anyone not to notice all these facts that clearly show the flaws, bias and lack of application of basic principles of independent investigation in this inquiry report. When I had decided to carry out the surprise visit and to bring the irregularities and corruption to the notice of public, I was aware that this is not going to be an easy battle. But I had never imagined that even an independent inquiry would be so difficult that too at a time when the case is under the constant vigil by media and people. I would appeal to Commissioner to intervene in this matter urgently as it is not only boosting the morale of officials negligent of their duties but is also affecting peoples faith in democratic institutions. Immediate action against officials directly responsible for illegal unipoles and an independent and fair inquiry is the only way forward and there can be no compromise on the same. Now this matter is in the court of Commissioner of East Delhi, Director Local Bodies, Honble Lt. Governor, Media and above all in the court of people who already in large numbers have come forward supporting this initiative.

Sincerely Yours

Dr. Annapurna Mishra Mayor East Delhi