Some years ago the State Government decided to grant ownership rights to the people who were in possession of Government lands under the much talked about Roshni Scheme. Rules were laid down for transfer of properties, criterion for granting ownership, fixation of the cost of land system and the mode of payment of the cost etc. As far as the rules and procedures were concerned there was no flaw in them but the actual transaction especially fixation of the cost of the land was the main item which has come under the scanner of the State Vigilance Organisation. The scam was first detected by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and then the case was brought to the notice of the State High Court which pursued it as per the rules. Five FIRs pertaining to six districts were filed about six months ago. But till date no further action has been taken on the FIRs nor have the names of the Government functionaries who are answerable been disclosed. The Deputy Commissioners are not cooperating, the revenue departmental functionaries are not cooperating and in absence of their cooperation or in absence of submitting necessary record, the Vigilance Organization feels handicapped to cope with the task assigned to it.
Why is the Government feeling helpless in providing requisite information and documents to the Vigilance Organization? Is it not an aspersion on the honesty and sincerity of the Government to hold back information and is it not infringement of the Right to Information Act? Should not a criminal case be framed against the defaulting Government functionaries for obstructing the flow of administration and justice? We have a copy of the official document signed by the Director of State Vigilance Organization which gives district-wise detail of the FIRs filed and the little or negligible progress made in pursuing the cases. There is little doubt that undue and unwarranted favours have been shown to particular persons by making very low assessment of the cost of land that has been transferred to the possessors. In doing so the State exchequer has been swindled of crores of rupees. The State Government is endlessly lamenting on its meagre financial resources and lack of funds to run important development projects. For every project, the State Government looks to the Centre, and under one pretext or the other, it seeks acquiring funds. But it is ironical that the Government fails to recover crores of rupees that have been stolen and illegally kept by powerful persons with strong clout in State politics.
The Government would be well advised to provide all the requisite facilities to the State Vigilance Organization if it is sincerely desired to eradicate corruption from the administration. The organization needs to be given its proper status so that the administrative departments cooperate with it. It is the duty of the Government to ensure that the departments do not become the source of obstruction to the work of the Vigilance Organization by holding back the information and documents and files from it in cases of alleged corruption needing investigation. Even SVO should not sit over the FIRs. It is the duty of SVO to complete the investigation in a time bound manner so that the cases are taken to the logical conclusion.
Follow our WhatsApp channel