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CVC moots three-point programme to fight corruption

Determination, empowerment of people, transparency in public sphere and deterrent punishment to wrongdoers can help check corruption in the country, says Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal.

He lists "five devils", including the presence of concept of a biradari (society) of the corrupt, that has let corruption flourish in the Indian system.

Scarcity of goods and services, red tape, complicated rules and procedures, lack of transparency in decision-making and legal impediments to prove the corrupt guilty have also helped breed corruption, he said in his paper on 'Quality in Government' at the Service Quality Conclave, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry.

Vittal said all organisations had to be graded on the basis of the level of corruption to fight the malady.

A clear idea of the dynamics of corruption was needed to tackle and curb it at different levels, the CVC said, adding that he was working on a three-point programme to check corruption and hoped to eliminate it one day.

Since many rules and procedures in India breed corruption, Vittal said, the first step to fight corruption was to simplify rules and procedures.

Post-tender negotiation on government purchases was one such source of corruption and an order has been issued to simplify the procedure, he said.

Secondly, public should be empowered and greater transparency brought into the public sphere, he said. The third and final step is to mete out effective punishment through departmental inquiries or prosecution of corrupt people.

Pointing out that corruption flourished because of the "low risk, high-profit" factor, Vittal suggested that the government confiscate ill-gotten property by enacting laws to check and control the menace.

The CVC emphasised the need for building public opinion in the country to force MPs and legislators to annually file information on their properties to the speaker or chairmen of their respective Houses. The government should confiscate benami properties belonging to politicians, he said.

Vittal said the Central Bureau of Investigation, under the changed dispensation, was in a position to take independent action though its working needs to be further strengthened.

He said that in the past the governments in Hong Kong, Singapore and Italy had taken strong measures to check corruption and succeeded to a major extent.

In Italy and France, the magistrates were able to take on the mafia to reduce corruption. It was true that some magistrates in Italy were killed in the process but the fact that these countries made efforts to bring down corruption was noteworthy, he said.

"The point to be noted is that corruption can be fought and eliminated but what we need is a determined mindset," the CVC said.

UNI

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