Firoz.T.Totanawala The Bangalore Metro Reporter ERASING CORRUPTION!

                                      

Firoz.T.Totanawala

The Bangalore Metro Reporter

1st December 2011 issue-

ERASING CORRUPTION!                             

Fighting corruption has become the talk of the day especially after the ‘fast unto death’ of Anna Hazare for enforcement of Lokpal Bill. But, at the maximum, the Lokpal can become one of the agencies to probe the corrupt and it is definitely not the end. One has to address the basics before venturing to fight the corruption virus which has seeped into every organ of the society.

Our democracy stands on three pillars- Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. The Legislature has to formulate laws and visions, the executive has to implement the same and the judiciary has to interpret laws and adjudicate any disputes.

But how to fight corruption?

Firstly, the parliament has to amend the constitution giving fundamental right to the people to fight the corruption at all levels. This will revolutionalise the concept of fighting corruption. Even if one percent of the total population of the country takes this fundamental right to fight corruption seriously, miracles in this regard can be expected.

To curb corruption at Legislature level, a system has to evolve. Political parties should insist on the declaration of assets and liabilities of all its members. As the membership has to be renewed at regular intervals, the party members/office bearers must file their assets and liabilities statements to the party unit-local, District or State level, as the case may be. The election commission which registers, regularizes and derecognizes political parties should make it mandatory for the parties to keep records of the assets and liabilities of all its active members including office bearers. The party candidates should also declare their assets and liabilities to the EC while filing nominations for elections. Once the candidate is elected, he must declare the assets and liabilities statements to the Speaker-Chairman of legislatures, in addition to the Lokayuktas, every year. If there are steep increased in assets, there should be an agency to immediately probe the same. If the probe finds abnormal increase in assets, the government should attach these excess assets and disqualify the member from the seat along with life time ban on contesting elections. If this is done, politics will be out of reach to businessmen and various lobbies and will instead become a tool for social change.

As far as executive is concerned, its corruption depends on its political masters. It starts from the top and percolates to the lowest rungs of the executive. There are various checks and balances to prevent corruption in the executive like Lokayukta’s vigilance commissions, CBI, CVC etc. To fight corruption among the bureaucrats, the anti graft bodies should be strengthened at Taluk District and state level with real powers. At the Taluk level Lokayukta unit be headed by a DSP which makes it easy to identify corrupt officials at the Taluk levels. At the district level, the unit should be headed by a SP and IGP level official should head the state unit. At every level, there should be public grievances cell and the public be encouraged to make full use of it.

Besides, the unit heads should be made to visit at least one government office a day, to acquire first hand knowledge of the working. Interaction with public will also help change the system. Depending on the public inputs, the unit heads can raid or trap the officials. If the initial probe detects more assets than the declared assets, the units should attach the ‘excess’ immediately and only if the official proves his innocence, the attached assets can be returned. The movable assets like luxury items, vehicles etc. that are attached will lose its value as time passes. By the time, the official gets back after winning the case; these items will be useless and outdated. This will teach a lesson of sorts to the corrupt.

Once the guilt is established prima facie, the official must be dismissed from service and there should be no middle ground like suspensions, transfers etc. If the dismissed official wins the case on technical grounds, the government can convert his dismissal into voluntary retirement and if the case is won on merits which prove the innocence of the official, the government has to reinstate the official with all honours. Of course, sufficient care should be taken to prevent honest officials getting ‘trapped’. If the raid on trap does not point towards the corruption, the anti graft agency should publish the incident along with a regret which will act as a catalyst for the honest officials. As far as ‘proved’ cases of corruptions are concerned, the jail sentence should be maximum. And here also, the conviction should be given huge publicity.

As far as corruption in judiciary is concerned, the system has checks and balances to counter corruption in lower courts. But the judges in High Court and Supreme Court are immune to any actions for their omissions and commissions. Even if the corruption charge is proved, there is no way the judge gets punished as there is no provision to dismiss, let alone suspend a judge. The judges can be removed only through an impeachment by parliament and that is next to impossible. It is therefore required that judiciary is subjected to Accountability Bill.

More than anything, people’s attitude towards corruption should change. Tolerating corruption is also a form of corruption. Lokayukta or Lokpal may touch a fraction of the corrupt. But it is the society’s mindset against corrupt, that will do wonders. And that is all.