Was it the “Ambani” deal that Satya Pal Malik said he canceled as governor of Jammu and Kashmir?

In October 2018, he noticed that a sum of around Rs 1,900 had been deducted from his modest salary. He was told that this was the first installment of the medical insurance premium that had been made compulsory for government employees in Kashmir.

“They never asked for our consent,” said the government employee, who works in the Kashmir education department, and only wanted to be identified as Ahmed. “Whether we want the medical insurance policy or not, no one has asked us.”

A few months later, finance staff in the education department told him that the insurance policy had been canceled. “They just said there was a scam and the money was gone. There was no explanation, ”he said.

The group medical insurance scheme, intended for nearly 4.5 lakh of government employees and more than 1 lakh of Jammu and Kashmir government retirees, was implemented in September 2018.

The government had attached with the general insurance Reliance of Anil Ambani. The Insurance plan of Rs 260 crore came into effect on October 1, 2018. In that month, Rs 60 crore was paid as an advance on the premium. But before the end of October, the government suddenly suffers canceled the system of government.

“The employees wanted it canceled,” said Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satyapal Malik at the time. “There were hiccups. I read the entire file and when I came to the conclusion that something was wrong it didn’t take me a minute to undo it.

Malik claimed that the expensive insurance contract was “fraught with fraud” and awarded “in haste”. “I can’t tell you everything at this stage, but there are officials involved and they will be punished,” he said in 2018.

Three years later, there has been no action against any official as the Jammu and Kashmir anti-corruption bureau ruled that there was “no irregularity” in the way the contract was awarded .

Malik, now governor of Meghalaya, once again raised the issue of corrupt agreements within the government of Jammu and Kashmir.

While his remarks have attracted the attention of political circles, in Kashmir, officials say they are still waiting for their bonuses to be refunded. “Our hard-earned money has never been returned,” Ahmed said.

A story of two files

The insurance scheme was announced months after the government collapsed in what was then the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In June 2018, the Bharatiya Janata party left the coalition government led by the People’s Democratic Party and the governor’s government was established in the state.

Malik was installed as governor of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2018. A career politician, he joined the BJP in 2004 before serving as governor in various states.

A year later, in August 2019, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two Union Territories, headed by Lieutenant Governors. Soon after, Malik was transferred, first to Goa and then to Meghalaya as governor. Recently, he has become a vocal critic of the central government led by the BJP.

During a speech in Rajasthan in October, he claimed he had been Free bribes worth Rs 300 crore to wipe out two records when he was governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

“After going to Kashmir, two files reached me, one belonging to Ambani and the other to a man affiliated with the RSS who was a minister in the previous government led by Mehbooba Mufti and claimed to be very close to the Prime Minister”, Malik said. .

He continued: “I was informed by the secretaries of the two departments that there was a scandal and therefore I canceled the two agreements. The secretaries told me that “you will get 150 crore rupees each to clear the files”, but I told them that I came with five kurta pajamas and that I will leave with that only. ”

Although Malik did not specify which offers he canceled, many believe one of them was the contract with Reliance General Insurance.

A probe and a report

Under this program, government employees were required to pay an annual bonus of Rs 8,777. Government retirees could pay 22,229 rupees per year, although the scheme was optional for them. They would get insurance coverage of up to Rs 6 lakh per year. It would cover the person paying the premium and one of the five dependent family members on a rotating basis.

From the outset, officials complained about the lack of transparency in the way the scheme had been put in place. Soon he was deployed, they filed a petition with the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, challenging the insurance policy.

As the government canceled the program in October 2018, a spokesperson for Reliance General Insurance refuse all allegations of fraud. The company won the contract through an “open, transparent and competitive process in which seven insurers participated,” he said.

But the controversy has become a source of embarrassment for the BJP, attacked by opposition parties in Kashmir for allegedly promoting corruption. The Kashmir-based People’s Democratic Party and the National Conference also questioned the abrupt termination of the deal and called for a further investigation into the alleged fraud.

Shortly after the program was dropped, the Jammu and Kashmir anti-corruption office launched an investigation into the contract award. In August 2020, a Request for the right to information filed with the office revealed these two facts: the investigation had found “no irregularities” in the contract and the office submitted its report to the administration of the Union territory in November 2019, a few weeks after Malik been removed from his post as governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

“We want our money back”

Three years later, government workers say their premiums have yet to be refunded. “As an official employee, an amount of Rs 6,500 was debited from my account,” said Rafique Rather, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Employees Joint Action Committee, an amalgamation of various groups of employees in Kashmir. “In the case of unlisted employees, their bonus was divided into four payments, one of which was deducted from their salaries. ”

Even though employee groups have repeatedly raised the issue of reimbursement, things have not changed, they say.

According to Rather, Jammu and Kashmir government employees currently have no medical insurance coverage. If employees get sick, they can produce bills for medical bills and the government will reimburse them, although under certain conditions. Rather assertive employees had even suggested to the state government – the coalition between the BJP and the People’s Democratic Party – to introduce group medical insurance.

While the coalition government had paid no attention, the governor’s administration did – only to come back with the controversial Reliance contract. “Things did not go as they should have,” said Rather. “In the midst of it all, employees lost their hard earned money through no fault of their own. ”

A senior irrigation department official, speaking unofficially, said the administration showed no signs of refunding the premium. “If, by mistake, an employee only receives a small additional amount with their salary, the government is quick to deduct that additional money from their salary the following month,” he noted. “Here, the government doesn’t seem to care. We want our money back. It is our right.

The administration of the Union Territory, for its part, has distanced itself from politics. “It’s an old business,” said Atal Dulloo, finance commissioner and additional chief secretary in the government of Jammu and Kashmir. “I don’t want to comment on this. You better talk to the people who have been associated with this policy.

Scroll. In also sent questions to Reliance General Insurance, requesting their response about a refund to those who had paid the premium. This report will be updated as there is a response.