Lokpal not needed: Omar Abdullah

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said there was no need for special laws like Lokpal as the state already had such provisions.

"What Anna Hazare is demanding today, our state has already enacted such laws long back," he told a public meeting in Ganderbal district.

Jammu and Kashmir was the first state in the country which had implemented the Public Services Guarantee Act, Abdullah said.

Many departments including Revenue, Transport, Housing, Power, Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution and Public Health Engineering were brought under its ambit, he said.

"In case, the officers of these departments fail to provide service to the people in a time-bound manner, they become liable to cash penalties which will be deducted from their salaries," the chief minister said.

The Accountability Commission was also functioning in the state, he said.