Corruption is the most formidable challenge India has ever faced. This menace has got fully entrenched in the system at every level of governance. It is the biggest enemy of development and well being of the masses.
A corrupt politician or bureaucrat in charge of policy making, implementation of welfare schemes, allocation of resources, grant of approvals or licenses, making laws etc is capable of undermining good decisions and causing huge loss to exchequer.
Imagine, if this malady afflicts a large cross-section of the bureaucracy and political establishment, the consequences can be horrendous. This is precisely what we have seen especially during the last decade of governance under UPA–I&II.
GDP growth has plummeted to a low of less than 5%, inflation accelerated to double digits and food inflation even higher, un-employment scaled new highs, fiscal deficit and CAD increased to un-sustainable level.
India has an Anti-corruption Act in place for more than 2 decades and Right to Information Act (RTI) that enables public to access all that is done by politicians and officials on file. Yet, corruption continues to proliferate aggravating economic ills.
The paramount reason for this is that action or shall we say, credible action to prosecute the corrupt is woefully lacking. Indeed, it won’t be an exaggeration to infer that there has been no action at all. Who is responsible for the inaction?
The concerned agencies viz., Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC )who are expected to go full throttle to investigate and prosecute, are hamstrung. They do not have the ‘autonomy’ to act on their own and have invariably followed the diktat of political establishment.
Indian public has waited for several decades to countenance this single most important obstacle to dealing with corruption. They have been impatiently looking for an ombudsman – an independent body – free from clutches of Government.
Thanks to a protracted civic society’s movement led by Anna Hazare that reached its flash point in last 2 years and drubbing received by Congress in 4 state assembly elections – primarily due to its failure to combat corruption and price rise – finally Parliament has enacted Lok Pal bill.
Has Indian public got what it aspired for? Will Lok Pal help in making a dent on corruption? Will it deliver where existing mechanisms have failed? Or, will it be just another super-structure adding to already bloated bureaucracy?
The real test is whether members of Lok Pal are truly independent. That in turn, depends on how impartial and objective is the selection panel. The other critical test is whether CBI will be able to act ‘freely’ without any interference from Government.
The selection panel will include Prime Minister (PM), Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Justice of India (CJI), leader of opposition and an eminent jurist to be selected by other 4 members. That is a fairly balanced composition between representatives of Government (PM & LS speaker) and independent persons from outside (CJI, leader of opposition and jurist).
As regards autonomy of CBI, the law clearly specifies in all corruption related cases, the concerned inspector/officer will only take orders from Lok Pal. Besides, Government will also have no say in posting and transfer of officials investigating corruption related cases.
CBI will not require prior permission/sanction of the Government for investigation and prosecution of officials above the rank of joint secretary. This under existing dispensation has been a major bottleneck in pursuing corruption related cases.
Until hitherto, Director (prosecution) was reporting to Ministry of Law, GOI. Inspectors/officials in the prosecution wing were literally under the clutches of Government. Now, this has been liberated from control. Henceforth, Director (prosecution) will report to CBI Director.
Apart from bringing PM under Lok Pal purview (a major bone of contention for long), all class I & II employees will be under its ambit. However, class III & IV employees will be under the jurisdiction of CVC.
The power of dissolving Lok Pal rests with the Supreme Court (SC). The Government or at least 100 MPs can only make a recommendation to the SC.
In a nut-shell, all these major changes will bring CBI solely under the jurisdiction of Lok Pal on all corruption related matters, liberate it from the shackles of Government controls and help its autonomous functioning.
To countenance menace of poor governance and inefficient delivery of services at the local/grass root level, a ‘Citizen’s Charter’ bill is already pending in the Parliament. Its passage should help in dispensing of essential services viz., issue of ration cards, water/power connection, passport etc within set time lines.
A ‘Whistle blowers’ bill is also pending consideration and expected to be passed on top priority. This will provide necessary protection to any person who brings to the attention of authorities instances of corruption and face threat from perpetrators.
With the passage of this long awaited law on institution of Lok Pal, India has taken a major step forward in combating the menace of corruption.
Yet, given the long history of mis-use and sabotage of institutions, even this ombudsman may not be of much help unless all those connected with its functioning – within and outside – work ‘passionately’ and ‘diligently’ in the true spirit of punishing the guilty and corrupt.
Given monumental loss of resources that country suffers due to a plethora of scams, and corruption – year-after year – successful prosecution will act as huge deterrent to such acts thereby releasing money for development and people welfare.
All stakeholders should give this ‘revolutionary’ reform a chance to succeed for giving prosperity to Indians for generations.