Concerned over the perceived corruption in the state, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today told the Assembly that the government would strengthen the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) and also appoint an independent vigilance officer.
The ACB is not an autonomous body at present and has less than 10 members.Opposition member P A Sangma strongly demanded appointment of an independent chief vigilance officer CVC in the state as the chief secretary, according to him was "too busy" to deliver justice in this regard.
At present, the chief secretary functions as an ex-officio CVC."Vigilance officers are necessary in all ministries because there is too much corruption going on," the former Lok Sabha Speaker contended even as he highlighted that several block development officers (BDOs) were "caught in video" siphoning off crores of rupees but were still "going around freely" in the state.
The chief minister, in his reply, said action has been initiated against one of the BDOs in cases related to Selsella and Dadenggre blocks in Garo Hills and a criminal case has been registered.
He also said that six cases were referred to the ACB for enquiry over the last five years and three of these were disposed off, while the remaining are still under investigation.
Pointing that the tribal population in the state is not subjected to income tax returns, the CM said the government would "take a call" and try and get all government employees to declare assets.
He added that the "problem of black money and corruption" was a national problem and the state was "equally concerned".
Earlier, replying to a query by independent legislator Manas Chaudhuri, the CM said though there has been no "proper complaint" regarding corruption in the state, the government was taking action based on "anonymous letters", most of which, however, involved "vested interests" and were malicious attempts.
He, nevertheless, iterated that the government was according "due weightage" to the nameless letters as well.
0 comments:
Post a Comment