Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 18: Despite ‘lukewarm’ response from the State Government on providing sufficient manpower and other paraphernalia, the State Accountability Commission (SAC) has decided 128 cases within a span of one year. This indicates that if the Commission is strengthened strictly in accordance with the Rules and Regulations it can go a long way in eradication of corruption, favouritism, nepotism or lack of integrity and maintaining probity, transparency and improve efficiency in public services.
According to the figures available with EXCELSIOR, when Justice (retd) Y P Nargotra and Justice (retd) Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain took over as Chairperson and Member of the Accountability Commission in August 2011, a total of 324 cases were pending before the Commission. This number increased to 458 in one year with the Commission receiving 132 fresh complaints besides taking suo-moto action in two cases under Section 9 of the Act.
Out of total 458 cases, 282 cases were ordered to be transferred to the Vigilance Commission in terms of Section 32 of the Act while as the SAC within a span of one year decided 128 cases despite the fact that sufficient staff and necessary infrastructure was not available and it had to start working with one or two officers and few officials after remaining defunct for quite long time.
The intensity of difficulties being faced by the Commission can be gauged from the fact that against five sanctioned gazetted posts only three have been filled by the Government till date. Similarly, out of 28 non-gazetted posts 16 have been lying vacant. The Government has not filled even two posts of Public Prosecutors.
Deputy Registrar is officiating as Principal Secretary to the Chairperson due to the failure of the Government to fill up this vital post. Similarly, the post of FA/CAO is vacant. One post each of Assistant Registrar, Senior Stenographer, Court Officer, two posts of Translators, three posts of Computer Operators, two posts of Senior Assistants, three posts of Junior Assistants and one post of Telephone Operator are also lying vacant.
“The Commission made official communications to the Government about filling up of all the vacant posts a number of times but no seriousness was shown by the Government to provide sanctioned manpower”, sources regretted, adding “the investigating agency required for conducting investigations by the Commission under the Rules and Regulations, has not been provided till date”.
“As the Commission disposed of 128 cases within a span of one year despite many constraints, the Government should wake up from deep slumber and provide all necessary support to the Commission”, sources said, adding “if the Commission is strengthened in accordance with Rules and Regulations, it can go a long way in eradication of corruption, favouritism, nepotism or lack of integrity and maintaining probity, transparency and improve efficiency in public services”.
It is pertinent to mention here that this is for the first time ever since the establishment of the Accountability Commission that such number of cases were decided within a span of one year.
In response to a question, they said, “no doubt 282 cases have been transferred to State Vigilance Commission in view of the statutory provision made in Section 32 of the Act but since the Vigilance Commission has not been constituted so far, these files are still lying with the Accountability Commission”.
Meanwhile, to bring transparency in its working the Commission will shortly have its own website which will provide up to date information and case status of the complaints pending in the Commission. The website will also contain number of cases instituted and disposals/recommendations made.
Moreover, the Commission will be providing e-mail addresses on which the public can give their suggestions, leads and complaints relating to corruption against public functionaries, who are amenable to the jurisdiction of the Commission with or without disclosing their identity.
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