Patil calls for iron hand in fight against corruption
FIGHTING THE EVIL
Mumbai: If deputy chief minister R R Patil lives up to his promises, the day
is not far away when the anticorruption bureau (ACB) will be able to
prosecute senior officials in corruption cases without wasting precious time
waiting for the state government or the sanction of the centre.
While inaugurating the official website of the ACB on Monday at Police
club, Patil told a gathering of senior police officers, “I’m trying to bring
a change in the department, wherein the ACB will no longer have to wait for
the state government’s sanction. I’m also trying to improve the image of the
ACB. Officers transferred to this department believe that this is a
sidelined branch. But they should realise that this is a challenging job as
they are playing an important role in eliminating corruption.”
The ACB, which is observing the Vigilance Awareness Week-starting from
November 1 to 9-on Monday launched its interactive website
acbmaharashtra.org. One can now register his/her complaint on the net,
without travelling to the ACB office at Worli.
Beside giving several options, the site also asks the people to send in
their suggestions or opinions on how to simplify the filing of complaints
process. Patil said,”From getting birth certificates, admission to schools
and colleges to death certificates, one has to pay a bribe in our country.
There is an urgent need to generate awareness among government officials
that the state machinery should try do work absolutely free of cost.”
He suggested that a system should be introduced, wherein if a police officer
trapped an official or inve s t i g at e d and found disproportionate assets
like sales tax and income tax, he would be given a reward. Blaming the
complainants for poor conviction rate, Patil insisted that ACB should start
a training course where they should be taught how to prosecute the case and
bring a good number of convictions.
Patil said in the past five years atleast 2,800 government officials,
including senior officers, had been caught taking bribes, but corruption had
not reduced. He said people, particularly from rural areas, should be made
aware of the existence of organisations such as the ACB.
Deputy chief minister R R Patil inaugurates State Anti Corruption Bureau’s
website during the Vigilance Awareness Week in the city on Monday.