Who sits on CVC corruption complaints? Railways, Delhi Govt top list…….Ritu Sarin
Last year, the Central Vigilance Commission imposed 2,649 penalties — the highest ever — on corrupt and errant Government officials but what stands out in the CVC annual report tabled in Parliament are its remarks on “complete apathy” and “procrastination” by ministries and departments in the processing of these cases.
In its report for 2008, the CVC has listed 17 departments where “considerably large number of complaints” are pending. This list is headed by the Ministry of Railways (133 cases pending); the Government of Delhi (107); Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (99), Ministry of Defence (46 cases) and Ministry of Home Affairs (28 cases).
The list of 186 departments — where investigations are pending for one to three years — includes the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the IITs in Delhi, Kharagpur and Roorkee, and several PSU banks.
Most of the delays, the CVC says, are related to issuing chargesheets, appointment of inquiry officers and issuing final orders.
In 48 cases, the departments have let off accused officials “lightly” despite stiff penalties imposed by the CVC. These include: Delhi Development Authority, Railways, Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of External Affairs.
The report identifies two “areas of concern” — absence of service rules on action to be taken against retired officers, and nothing in short-term contracts for managing directors on punishment. This, the CVC says, may “tempt” officials to “indulge in inappropriate behaviour just prior to their retirement from service.”