Govt fast-tracks probe on graft
Determined to refurbish the image of UPA-II on the vexed issue of dealing with corruption, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) has asked all the ministries and government departments to ensure that disciplinary proceedings in corruption cases against officials should be finalised well before they retire. The move, DoPT sources said, has been triggered by the fact that a large number of government officials retire by the time action against them can be initiated.
Thus, the DoPT has now directed that such cases should be put on “fast track”. “
“In the last three years, as many as 128 such cases could not be taken to the logical conclusion as the officials retired while the cases got entangled in procedural delays or bureaucratic hassles. Fast tracking such cases will act as a deterrent,’’ a senior DoPT official said.
Importantly, now the ministries and departments have been asked to ensure that if need be a “second stage consultation’’ even with the Central Vigilance Commission can be dispensed with. “Before initiating disciplinary action in corruption cases, the parent cadre consults the CVC. But if the ministry or department has a foolproof case against an erring official then in an attempt to fast track the matter the second stage consultation with the CVC can be avoided,’’ the official added.
The DoPT, sources added, in consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office, is in the process of putting in place a slew of measures to check corruption among the government officials, particularly the top brass. The government had also constituted a group of ministers on the issue and its recommendations are being implemented in a phased manner by the government.
“One will see a number of measures in the days to come which will prove that there is a greater sense of urgency now among the government on the issue of tackling corruption,’’ a top DoPT official remarked.
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