Taming the Corruption – Will it ever happen?

Behind all the noise and political manoeuvring on corruption, there is some desire at the Government level to make an impact on the corruption or at least be seen to be doing something about it. While Government under political pressure may have allowed CBI some freedom on opposing bail applications of Kanimozhi, or allowed it to vigorously follow-up on corruption cases against its ministers & bigwigs (Kalmadi, A Raja, business honchos involved in 2G scams), however what will impact common man is not these cases (though these make big headlines) is the day to day working of the Government. Thus taking action on the nitty gritty issues would really matter.

To this end the Government has proposed that an official before being appointed be scrutinised for his / her track record particularly in critical positions. Another proposal moots that the Government gives speedy permission for prosecution. In a move which could turn out to be really effective, it has proposed that names of the officers involved in corruption cases be posted on govt’s websites. To track accountability for the decision, it would like that an Official Order should clearly mention if it has been sanctioned by the cabinet, a minister or an individual official.

The Govt cleverly put these proposals on the agenda in the Chief secretaries conference held earlier, implying that the corruption is a all-India level problem, which cannot be solved by the central government only. However what is important that the central Govt. should set an example by putting a far more comprehensive reform package on these issues under its own govt. rather than trying to play ‘passing the buck’ game.

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