Thiruvananthapuram: Even as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has called upon the states to bring in stringent anti-corruption laws, the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala has been sitting on a set of recommendations given by a three-member panel on strengthening the Vigilance and Lok Ayukta machinery.
The panel headed by Justice K.P. Balachandran had recommended various steps, including speedy procedures in anti-corruption cases, implementation of the Supreme Court directive that if prosecution sanction to vigilance cases was not granted within three months it could be deemed as granted, and strict implementation of Right to Service Act in all key government departments.
The recommendations were submitted to the then Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan in November 2012. Even a year later, the government has not initiated any steps to revamp the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau or the Lok Ayukta.
Retired IAS officer Kuruvila John and retired IPS officer Alphonse Louis Erayil were the other members of the panel. “It was found that scores of files seeking prosecution sanction in vigilance cases or departmental actions were held up at various government departments.
Even in trap cases in which the accused were held red-handed by the VACB, no action was initiated even after years,” said a member of the panel. Another recommendation was to make it mandatory for officials at check posts to wear name badges and strictly prevent entry of private persons inside check posts by posing as those assisting the officials. The panel also recommended that the status of vigilance probes should be made available online.
