Vigilance body seeks developmental control

Kolkata: The West Bengal Vigilance Commission has asked the state government to bring all the development agencies in the state under its purview.
The recommendation comes in for a mention in the commission’s annual report tabled in the state assembly recently.
“The Commission has noted with concern that certain sectors dealing with developmental work in the state are not within the ambit of the Commission, and consequently people’s confidence is shaken when it is found that erring officers or employees responsible for misusing public money cannot be proceeded against,� the Commission’s stated in its report.
The commission referred to 35 cases where investigations into alleged corrupt practices were closed following non-cooperation, sustained inaction and negligent handling by the concerned departments.
In a startling revelation, the commission has cited the case of a departmental enquiry against two officers of home (civil defence) department in 1977. More than 20 years have elapsed since, but no intimation has been made regarding the action taken by the department despite several rejoinders.
In another instance involving a probation officer in Malda alleged to have prepared false travel allowance bills, the Commission had recommended financial penalty and a steep pay reduction. However, the documents were lost in transit and no action was taken thereafter.
The lackadaisical attitude of the state government in setting up Lok Ayuktas also came in for severe criticism by the commission.
“Though an expectation was reflected in the last report of the commission in the matter of setting up of Lok Ayuktas for dealing with corruption against people’s representatives of all levels, unfortunately no positive response is perceptible in this regard uptill now. It is high time the government gave a serious thought in order to ensure more transparency in the financial dealings and ensure accountability of the authorities.