Wednesday, June 29, 2011

How to ensure that there is no corruption within Jan Lokpal or Jan Lokayukta?

Firstly, by ensuring that the right person is selected for this role!

  • Selection process for the members and Chairperson of Jan Lokpal and Jan Lokayukta has been kept transparent, broad based and participatory.
  • The 10 members and the chairperson of Jan Lokpal will be selected by a Selection Committee that would comprise of the PM, Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, two youngest judges of Supreme Court (SC), two youngest Chief Justices of High Courts, Controller and Auditor General (CAG) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). The Selection Committee will make the above appointment from a pool of shortlisted candidates that has been identified by a "Search Committee".
  • The "Search Committee" is a 10-member committee formed as follows: First, the Selection Committee selects five members from former CEC and former CAG. However, those who have any substantive allegation of corruption or have joined any political party or are still in any Govt appointment shall be ineligible. These 5 members will then select another 5 members from the civil society to make the 10 member Search Committee.
  • The Search Committee will invite recommendations from various eminent people like editors, vice chancellors, directors of IITs, IIMs etc. These names will be put up on a website and public feedback invited, The search committee will then, by consensus, choose 3 times the number of vacancies. This list is forwarded to the Selection Committee which then selects.
  • All the meetings of the Search Committee and Selection Committee shall be video recorded that will be made public.

How will Jan Lokpal or Jan Lokayukt tackle corruption at Low Levels?

  • Each Govt Dept will have to make a Citizen's Charter telling who does what job and in how much time.
  • If Charter is not followed then people can complain to the Head of that Dept who will be designated as the Public Grievance Officer (PGO)
  • PGO will redress the complainant within 30 days maximum.
  • If PGO doesn't satisfy the complainant, then a complaint can be made to Jan Lokpal or Jan Lokayukt.
  • When a complaint is made to Jan Lokpal or Jan Lok Ayukt, it will be deemed to have a vigilance angle.
  • Problem will have to redressed within 30 days.
  • Penalty will be imposed on the guilty officers which will be given to the Complainant as compensation.
  • Investigation will be done that whether the officers of that Dept did not solve the problem for demand or expectation of bribery.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

How will Jan Lokpal or Jan Lokayukta tackle corruption at High Levels?

Presently the governments have created multiplicity of anti-corruption agencies. They are directly controlled by the govt and the ruling party and are completely ineffective. Unless any court monitors investigation in a case, nothing comes out of their investigation. Thus it is proposed that all these anti-corruption agencies should be merged and one independent body be created to do honest investigations.

At Central Level, anti corruption wing of CBI, Central Vigilance commission and internal vigilance wings of all dept should be merged into Jan Lokpal.
At State Level , anti-corruption branch of state police, the state vigilance department and internal vigilance wings of all departments should be merged into Jan Lokayukta of that State.

This will do away with multiplicity of anti-corruption agencies.

When any corruption complaint is made by any citizen, they will have to complete its investigation within one year. After which they will file a case in appropriate trial court. And the trial court will have to complete the trial and announce punishment within a year. If required, they will have powers to employ more officers to complete investigations and can direct the government to set up additional courts to complete the trial in time.

If complaint is proved, they will have the powers to remove a govt officer from job.

if complaint against a minister are substantiated through an enquiry or investigation, they will be able to recommend removal of that minister (other than the PM).

List of moveable and immoveable assets of the accused can be notified by Jan Lokpal or Jan Lokayukt, if during investigations, it comes to believe that prosecution is likely to be initiated. These assets cannot be transferred after such notification. Loss to exchequer quantified at the time of conviction could be recovered from the sale of these assets.

At the time of conviction, the court will make an assessment of the loss caused by the accused, which shall be recovered. If the beneficiary of the corrupt practices is a business entity, five times the loss caused to the government will be recovered. The recovery may be done from the assets of that business entity or the personal assets of its directors. ( Currently, there is no provision in our law to recover the public funds that have been misappropriated or make up for the loss to the exchequer on account of corrupt practices.)

What is JAN LOKPAL & JAN LOKAYUKTA

There will be established an institution called 'Jan Lokpal' at the Central Govt level and 'Jan Lokayukta' at each State Govt level. Each of them will have 10 members and one chairperson. Jan Lokpal will accept complaints against Central Govt. departments and Jan Lokayyukta will accept complaints against departments of that State Govt.
These will be completely independent of the government. Politicians and bureaucrats will not able to interfere in their functioning. They'll get whatever financial resources they ask for and they will be empowered to employ any number of employees that they need.

But don't we already have so many laws and institutions?
but still there is so much corruption!!

Corruption at High Levels!
Politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen are openly looting the nation. And no one goes to jail despite so much of evidence available against them in public domain.

Corruption at Low Levels!
Common man keeps struggling to get his most basic work done in govt dept. Whether it is ration dept or passport office, a citizen keeps running around till he pays up