news details |
|
|
| SVO's pick-n-choose policy to prosecute tainted officers draws flak | | | Bashir Assad
Jammu, Nov 30: Notwit-hstanding the Jammu and Kashmir Government's cla-ims of restoring public and providing clean administration, State Vigilance Or-ganization (SVO) is functioning on pick and choose basis while recommending prosecution of government employees in-volved in scams.
Though the Apex Court had earlier denounced the practice of pick and choose method, the functioning of the SVO particularly in recommending the cases for prosecution and returning some cases to the departments for instituting departmental inquiry, continues to invite public criticism due to lack of transparency.
It has been observed that while the SVO is putting a double edged sword of thr-eatening with recommending prosecution, some cases of serious nature are returned back to the departments for instituting departmental inquiry.
Vigilance insiders told Early Times that the criteria for sanctioning the prosecution and instituting an inquiry have not been defined by the SVO. "Once the SVO recommends departmental enquiry, it is being done to favour the accused officer. The functioning of SVO should usually be either to sanction prosecution or to close the case with its findings. In certain cases the Vigilance Court (Anti-Corruption Court) has closed a case as not proved and yet the SVO has still recommended for departmental enquiry without any justification," they said.
This "selective method" of instituting departmental enquiries has jeopardized the system. "If trained officers of SVO with all the records and resources are not able to come to any conclusions, how can departmental enquires prove cases against them," asked a senior officer of SVO.
Interestingly the SVO had long back issued a circular for appointment of departmental vigilance officers (DVOs) in the departments at the level of additional and special secretaries. But the performance of these DVOs has been decimal as they have to keep vigil on their commissioners who in turn has to write his annual performance reports.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
