Noose around the necks of corrupt babus and bureaucrats is being tightened in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. The state government will soon be armed with an act to confiscate properties of the bureaucrats acquired through corrupt means.
Sources stated that the Central government is set to clear the Madhya Pradesh Vishesh Nyayalaya Vidheyak 2011 (Special Courts Bill, 2011) after the law ministry gave its clearance to the bill stating that it was constitutionally and legally valid.
“The ministry of home affairs is now likely clear the bill and send the same to the President,” government sources added. Madhya Pradesh had to wait for the bill to be cleared by the Centre for almost a year as the MP Vidhan Sabha had passed the bill early last year and has sent it for clearance to the ministry of home affairs last April.
Alleging a delay in approving the law, the Madhya Pradesh government has been at loggerheads with the UPA government at Centre over the past several months. In fact, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan had even met President Pratibha Devi Patil, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and home minister P. Chidambaram last year seeking speedy approval to the anti-corruption law.
The bill is modelled on a similar law enacted and enforced by the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar. The legislation is being seen as an effective deterrent against corrupt public servants and provides for expeditious disposal of cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
“The proposed law also provides for the confiscation of property of corrupt officials acquired through corrupt means and the utilisation of such property for public good,” sources added. The government can utilise the property acquired through corrupt means for schools, colleges and other community facilities.