Finally, it looks like some action is going to be taken up for good. The Central Vigilance Commission is reportedly setting up a system of sending autonomous professionals to government departments in India to detect both dishonesty and the dishonest.

According to Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha this system is being planned to aim at using the autonomous experts as ‘fact-finding missions’.

If we get information or believe that something wrong is going on in a department, we can ask them to find out. Or if we find there are delays, they could find out how and why the delays are taking place

- Mr. Sinha told Hindustan Times.

The system aparently looks full-proof. The commission that has the authority to order direct investigation would direct these special teams. A report would be submitted by the team directly to the commission after the completion of their mission.

The further course of action would be determined in terms of this report. Bureaucrats named in the report could face a CBI inquiry if the indict is supported by first hand evidence. General defects within the department would be brought to the observation of superior officials for remedial action. The commission is having discussions with the government to notify a set of laws under the ‘CVC Act’ for this system to operate smoothly.

A CVC official said -

Most people we touch will go to court. The paperwork has to be flawless. We want to be on a sound footing on every count.

According to the officials, their intention is to call for the people with an unquestionable reliability record like to lead these unique ‘fact-finding missions’. The other method intended to be applied within this system is to hold a ‘discreet inquiry’.

However, ‘discreet inquiry’ can only be arranged against an individual, but not a group of individuals. And when talking about corruption in the government departments, it can be well assumed that more often than not, a group of individuals will be involved in the scenario rather than one person.

The CVC is aiming to set up such a system mainly due to two reasons. Firstly, until now, official authorization to investigate corruption was only limited to spies from agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation. But now they are overstrained with more cases than they can handle resourcefully.

And secondly, the commission also recognizes the fact that an official CBI inquiry at the first occurrence could amount to the harassment of sincere officers as well.

The intention behind setting up such a mechanism is indeed admirable, especially regarding a country like India. Although, what will be the consequences of such investigations and how far effective they will be, is altogether a different story. Nevertheless, we could still hope for some sort of a defense mechanism within the Indian government against corruption, if this system works well. The hope for a better future is always on the horizon, however far-fetched it might seem.

Image : The Hindu

Via : Hindustan Times