Tech edge to cut graft

Sopan Correspondent / New Delhi

Plan panel may introduce IT-enabled monitoring system to check fund pilferage

Of late corruption has become a major menace affecting every bit of Indian life. People have started saying that the menace has acquired a shape of three-dimension, as those in power are making money by unfair means from below the land (mining), on the land (from various schemes of the government) and above the land (spectrum).
Scams like NRHM and PDS in UP involving thousands crores of rupees have made government to re-orient its monitoring mechanism to avoid such scams taking place in future.
For the purpose the government has worked out an IT enabled near real-time monitoring network system to keep an eye not only on the fund flow from Centre to the lowest level, but also the physical outcome of expenditure on various Central social sector schemes. On central schemes the government of India spends about Rs 4, 00, 000 crore every year and it is believed, if the funds are utilized properly for next five years the face of India can change for better permanently.
The new set-up, which will be rolled out in the entire country in the next five years, is named as Central Plan Scheme Monitoring System (CPSMS).
As per the plan, which has piloted by Planning Commission in association with finance and IT ministries, it will work like network of networks and will capture data on fund flow from both Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and treasury routes at the grass roots level in real near time.
The Controller General of Accounts, ministry of finance, on last Friday made a presentation on CPMS to deputy chairman of planning commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
During the presentation, the Controller General of Accounts highlighted the achievements of the pilot projects on CPSMS undertaken in four states including Bihar (MGNREGS), Madhya Pradesh (NRHM), Punjab (SSA) and Maharashtra (PMGSY).
As per the presentation, with which the government appeared wholly satisfied, the treasury interface was successfully tested in Bihar and Maharashtra, as now details of utilization of funds (object head wise) through the state treasury route during financial year 2010-11 are available. Even daily uploads for financial year 2011-12 are available in case of Maharashtra.
In states, where pilot projects were undertaken, the government has achieved in creating real-time interface with Core Banking Solutions (CBS) of 26 public sector commercial banks, four private banks and 30 regional Rural Banks (RRBs). The CPSMS' integration with NREGASoft (MoRD), PRIYASoft (MoPR) and tally (accounting software) are underway, it was informed.
With pilot projects successfully operating, many other states including Odisha, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have expressed the desire to implement the system at the earliest, it was informed during the presentation.
However, as per the plan, the government has envisaged to extend the CPSMS to all states for all Central schemes in the next five years.
Since the CPSMS has been implemented in four states on a pilot basis, already 4,73,000 agencies have been registered on the system's portal with bank account details (including balances, type of payment - cash/cheque etc., beneficiary details).
All these details are now available for the registered agencies on near real time basis. "In four pilot states all state, district and block level agencies have been registered under MGNREGS, NRHM, SSA and PMGSY.
Majority of village level agencies have also been registered," the presentation revealed.
Further giving details of the success of the pilots in component wise expenditure details filing, the presentation claimed that capability of software for component-wise expenditure filing and reporting has been tested in four districts in Bihar (MGNREGS), Hosangabad District in MP (NRHM) and Ludhiana District of Punjab (SSA). In MP, all district level agencies are filing component wise expenditure details (NRHM).
Incidentally, the concept of IT infrastructure for real time monitoring system has been inspired by the US transparency portal, which has been tracking the money spent all over the country. The system has successfully been working there for last 10 years.

Bihar's anti-graft drive gets real

S Jha/ Patna

Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand have shown intent to confiscate properties of "corrupt" babus and use them for public purposes…

Time appears to be running out for corrupt babus to use their ill-gotten wealth to create assets. While Anna Hazare led campaign against corruption and for strong Lokpal find many takers, state governments are fast arming themselves with legislative provisions to confiscate properties of corrupt babus.

It all started with Bihar, a state which many people earlier used to condemn for deep rooted corruption, leading others to show corrupt bureaucrats are not spared. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar had stated earlier that the idea to confiscate properties of babus and convert them into schools had dawned upon him during his Vikas Yatra in the state. He had recalled that people used to come to him during the Yatra, complaining of corrupt babus and their "palatial" houses, which used to be the envy of the whole neighbourhood.

The move of the Bihar government to confiscate a palatial house of an IAS office, who had been accused of corruption, in one of the posh colony of the state capital had turned out to be show-off achievement of Mr Kumar. Not only the incident hit the national headlines, other state governments too started taking note of the iniative.

While the Bihar government was turning houses of babus built by the ill-gooten wealth into schools, Anna Hazare too had touched the chord with the masses at large on the issue of corruption and need to recover loss to the exchequer due to the graft cases from the tainted officials. This appear to have hastened the process in replicating the Bihar iniative and in span of about six months a number of states, including Himachal Pradesh, Odhisa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, joined the race to crack the whip against corrupt babus.

Meanwhile, the case of the IAS officer's palatial house, which was apparently valued for about Rs five crores, was handed over to the state human resource department to run a school in the premise following a cabinet decision of the state government. The three-storey house on Bailey Road in Patna belonged to suspended IAS officer Shiv Shankar Verma, which was also raided by sleuths of the special vigilance unit earlier and had seized assets worth Rs 1.5 crore. The Bihar government has put in place a mechanism under which such cases are tried in special courts and after the conviction of charges the assets of the convicted officials are confiscated by the state.

Even the Odhisa government appeared to have taken the cue from Bihar and confiscated a property of a corrupt IAS official and converted that into a health dispensary. While the Odhisa government has confiscated properties built by ill-gotten wealth of two IAS and one IPS officials so far, applications for attachment of properties of a number of accused persons have been filed in different courts in 197 cases out of which orders have been passed in 80 cases. The Odhisa chief minister had made the intention of the state government very clear by saying that he intended to use such assets for public purposes.

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly too has passed a resolution in a bid to curb corruption by making provision for special courts to attach and confiscate property amassed by corrupt means. The HP Special Courts (Attachment and Confiscation of property) Bill 2011 will provide for constitution of special courts for speedy trials in certain cases and attachment and confiscation of property accumulated by resorting to corrupt practices.

The Madhya Pradesh government too had earlier this year approved a bill to set up special courts for speedy trials of corrupt public servants and to confiscate properties earned through corrupt means.

The Uttarakhand Assembly too passed a legislation to constitute Lokayukta in the state which has been given the power to confiscate properties of the corrupt officials and others.

It's quite clear that the state governments are very well queuing up to be seen taking strong action against the corrupt. As the Parliament in its Winter session is likely to consider and pass a Bill for constituting Lokpal at the Centre with an enabling provision for Lokayukta in states, it appears quite clear that the building and showcasing assets built through ill-gotten wealth may not be a luxury for the corrupt anymore.

भ्रष्टाचार से मुक्ति के लिए सड़कों पर उतरी जनता

अरुण कुमार

पूरा देश इन दिनों एक स्वर में सड़कों पर भ्रष्टाचार के विरोध में खड़ा हो गया है. एक के बाद एक घोटालों, बढती महंगाई, सरकारी क्षेत्र में कुप्रबंधन ने देश को इस कद्र झकझोर के रख दिया है कि देश कि जनता को इसके खिलाफ सड़कों पर उतरना पड़ा. अन्ना हजारे के नेतृत्व में पूरा देश कश्मीर से लेकर कन्याकुमारी तक एक ही सूत्र में बंधा दिखाई दे रहा है. मानो सभी भ्रष्टाचार से ऊब चुके हों और अब कह रहे हैं कि उनमे इसे सहने कि और अधिक शक्ति नही है. इसलिए अन्ना हजारे के नेतृत्व में देश भ्रष्टाचार के विरोध में एक ऐसा सख्त कानून लाने कि मांग कर रहा है जिससे ये भ्रष्ट व्यवस्था अब आम और खास आदमी का खून और न चूस सके. लेकिन सरकारी तन्त्र न जाने क्या चाह्ता है वो इस व्यवस्था से निजात नही चाह्ता इसलिए जिस कानून को सारा देश समर्थन कर रह है सरकारी पक्ष इस से आंखें चुरा रहा है. वह इस सिविल सोसयिटी (नागरिक समाज) को ही भ्रष्ट बताने पर तुला है. लेकिन जब देश जाग जाता है तो देश मे क्रान्ति आ जाती है और कोइ भी झूठ ज्यादा समय तक नही टिकता. सरकार जिस झूंठ का पुलिन्दा अन्ना ओर उनके समर्थकों को भ्रष्ट बता कर बाँध रही थी उसे अन्ना को मिल रहे जनसमर्थन ने नाकर दिया जिस से सरकार के हाथ-पांव फूल गए. अन्ना १६ अगस्त से दिल्ली के रामलीला मैदान मे सरकार के खिलाफ धरने पर बैठें हैं.(दो दिनों तक अन्ना तिहाड मे ही धरने पर थे, जब दिल्ली पुलिस ने उन्हे धरनास्थल पर पहुचने से पहले ही उनके घर से गिरफ्तार कर लिया था.)

अन्ना के समर्थन मे पूरे देश मे जगह- जगह धरने और प्रदर्शन चल रहे हैं. अन्ना हजारे की एक आवाज पर भ्रष्टाचार पर एक हुआ देश अन्ना को पूरा समर्थन कर रहा है ओर अपनी चुनी हुई सरकार को चेता रहा है कि वो इस बार भ्रष्टाचार के रोग की ये संजीवनी हासिल कर के ही रहेगा. आजाद भारत मे यह एक ऐसा गैर राजनीतिक जनसंघर्ष है जिसमे लोग इतने बढे स्तर पर पूरे देशभर मे एकजुट हो रहें हैं. स्कूल और कॉलेज के छात्र भी आना के आन्दोलन में बढ-चढ़ कर हिस्सा ले रहे हैं. महात्मा गाँधी के पूर्व निजी सचिव और स्वंत्रता सेनानी श्री वेंकट कल्याणम कहते है की हमने जो लड़ाई अंग्रेजों से लड़ी थी वो अन्ना की लड़ाई से अधिक सरल थी वहां हमारा मुकाबला चरित्रवान अंग्रेजों से था. जबकि आज अन्ना हजारे चरित्रहीन लोगों से लड़ रहे हैं. श्री कल्याणम के कथन से ये समझा जा सकता है की मौजूदा व्यवस्था कितनी इमानदार है?

बहरहाल अन्ना हजारे के आन्दोलन कि मिल रहे समर्थन के बारे में यदि दिल्ली की ही बात करें तो यहाँ लोग हाथों में तिरंगा लिए जन लोकपाल बिल के समर्थन में नारे लगा रहे हैं. रात को मोमबतियां और मशाल ले के गली गली में सभाएं कर अन्ना के समर्थन में और लोगों को लाने का प्रयास कर रहे हैं. हर दिन बसों और दिल्ली कि लाइफ लाइन कही जाने वाली मेट्रो में सवार होकर आंदोलनकारी आना के समर्थन में नारे लगा रहे हैं वहीँ केंद्र सरकार के सभी मंत्रियों समेत सोनिया गाँधी, राहुल गाँधी और समूची राजनितिक पार्टियों को कोस रहे हैं. अन्ना के इस आन्दोलन ने सभी राजनितिक दलों को आईना दिखा दिया है कि अब यदि वो भ्रष्टाचार पर लगाम नही कसेंगे तो वो इस देश कि सत्ता पर राज करने का भ्रम त्याग दें. दिल्ली पुलिस के मुताबिक रामलीला मैदान में राजाना १ से डेढ़ लाख लोग अन्ना के समर्थन में आ के हुंकार भर रहे हैं. सरकार अपना जनसमर्थन खिसकता देख कांप तो रही है लेकिन अपनी जिद्द नही छोड़ रही है. आने वाले दिनों में यह देखना दिलचस्प होगा कि क्या सरकार सिविल सोसायटी का सख्त जन लोकपाल बिल को काननों के रूप में ले के आएगी या इस भ्रष्टाचार के जीवाणु को जिंदा रखने के लिए कोई तरकीब निकाल लेगी.

Effective deterrence to help fight the menace

India Against Corruption believes that only an effective Jan Lokpal Bill can help rid the country get free from the clutches of graft

Manish Sisodia

The prevailing situation in the country has been depressing for quite some time and consequently simmering discontent and anger against those, who wield power, has all along been there at the sub-surface of national conscience. People looked for an opportunity to vent their anger and agony.

Despite many vocal faces against corruption, they could not catch the imagination of public at large, as most of them lacked credibility and conviction in one way or the other. We at “India Against Corruption”, being a non-political and non-governmental entity, thought to provide a platform, where people can come and join hands against the malice, which is eating the very existence of our collective political living.

We believe there are reasons for creeping corruption in the country and we need to address them rather than pin point one individual or a group of individuals. Though I am not saying that individuals should not be punished for acts of corruption, court trials of individuals in cases of graft will not serve the larger national purpose given the penetration and quantum of cases involving unimaginable amount of money involved. We need to find out reasons for such incidences in the system. I think “deterrence” at all level including high and mighty, reforms in electoral system and de-linking investigation and prosecution of corruption cases from political masters will go long way in purging the system of the ills plaguing it.

“Deterrence” has a big role to play in fight against corruption, so a robust legal framework is required to deal with the situation. One such could be provided by enacting the “Jan Lokpal Bill”, which India Against Corruption has drafted.

No doubt there exist varieties of laws to deal with graft cases, but most of them lack the required bite to actually nail alleged culprits. Most of the existent laws depend on political expediency for their effectiveness. In the name of protection against frivolous charges, a lot of immunities have been inbuilt into the laws. Though they are being inbuilt to protect honest and upright in the system, they have ended up protecting the corrupt.

In the present system neither the investigative agencies nor the prosecuting process is independent of political masters of the day and so we find in many cases high and mighty escape the clutches of law.

The present “Jan Lokpal Bill” actually addresses this very edifice of the current law and so a lot of hue and cry is being generated in the system. Those, who matter in the society, are up against enactment of such a law and raising procedural matter relating to democracy and supremacy of Parliament. Where are we challenging the authority of the government and Parliament? We are not asking that we should be given authority to enact the law. Rather, we are trying to help the government in enacting an effective “Jan Lokpal Bill”. Our role is limited to generate public opinion in favour of creating an effective mechanism to deal with the malice.

Anna Hazare’s fast-un-to-death demonstration was part of such an exercise and through this India Against Corruption could largely achieve the purpose of generating public opinion against corruption. Mr Hazre’s face could appeal to the people at large, as he proved to be a credible face to fight against corruption. Since there were doubts that the government could enact an effective Bill, we asked for a joint panel to draft the law. Public pressure forced the government to accept our demand and thus the joint panel was formed.

Since then a campaign was launched to discredit the civil society members on the panel and shift focus from the main issue of corruption. It was natural and we expected that this would happen. But still our resolve is there and we would try our best to see through that an effective Bill is drafted, adopted by the government and passed by the Parliament.

(The writer is an RTI Activist, a prominent face of ‘India against Corruption’ and a close Associate of Anna Hazare)

Real goal is to end corruption: Kejariwal

SOPAN INTERVIEW

Corruption has become a secular evil to live with. Anna Hazare has struck a chord with the common man. However, the controversies continue to dog. The Jan Lokpal Bill has united the common men but divided many, khadi wearing pot-bellied leaders in particular. Some have camouflaged their discomfort with an ideological guise or intellectual argument. RTI activist, Magsaysay award winner and a member on the joint committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill, Arvind Kejariwal speaks to Shitanshu Shekhar Shukla on all issues, including the recent controversies.

Q. What If Lokpal himself becomes corrupt?

A. In order to ensure only an incorrigible person occupies the coveted post of Lokpal, there will be committees to select him. Election is not an option. The committees will have representatives of legislature, judiciary besides the civil society. If Lokpal were still to be found indulging in corrupt practices, the Supreme Court would expeditiously look and decide within stipulated period of one month whether the case prima facie holds water. If yes, a recommendation would be placed before the President of India to remove the Lokpal.

Q. The panel will, we hear, include Prime Minister, leader of opposition, Supreme Court judges etc. Since the Lokpal will have jurisdiction over them all, will not it lead to deadlocks? Don’t you think consensus will be elusive?

A. It may. Yes. But there is no option.

Q. The CD controversy has dented the credibility of the Bhushans. They are still on the panel. What is important for you at this stage -- Probity or legal brain?

A. True that they are on the panel only and only because the draft needs a legal brain. At this stage at least. One can say that probity is not so important as legal brain to draft the Bill. However, we emphasise on both – probity and legal brain. Both Prashant and Shanti Bhushan are clean lawyers. Not a single case has ever been proved against them. Not only that we, each one of us, are open to any independent inquiry. We are writing letter to the prime minister and the SC judges to hold against us any independent investigation they want. The CD was circulated and made by the corrupt forces trying to disrupt and divert the movement.

Q. Some politicians appeared to run a smear campaign against you all. Probably they saw the movement as opposed to them.

A. No. Not the entire political class. Only the corrupt elements did it because they felt threatened.

Q. Could you have avoided the controversy if you had a politician on your side?

A. No. Because it would have invited us more trouble. We would have been identified with certain party. Even as we are all apolitical, allegations fly thick and fast against us that we are getting help from this party or that party. Imagine what would have happened if we had beside us a politician.

Q. Will the Lokpal have enough teeth to bite? Or will it be just a barking watchdog? Hawala case is a poignant reminder. Despite the Jain diary mentioning the high and mighty, the case fell flat in the court. The shoddy investigators can sabotage the best of cases.

A. The Jan Lokpal Bill gives Lokpal enough teeth to bite. It will have its own prosecuting and investigating agency. The CBI dealing with corruption cases will come under jurisdiction of Lokpal.

Q. There are some disconcerting voices that your movement is running down the democracy.

A. I have before me a news clipping. Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyer has been reported as saying that the anti-corruption movement spearheaded by civil society is undermining democracy. Frankly, I am unable to understand it. The power of legislature to legislate has not been and can’t be usurped. We are only trying to give a few inputs but it will be for Parliament to discuss, debate and pass the Bill. We are strengthening democracy, not weakening it. It is similar to pre budget exercise when finance minister meets and invites several economists, business honchos for their views and their expectations from the budget. The intention is to help each other and grow economically faster. We are also doing same thing here. Is it a mute society which they want to rule? A speaking, discussing, deliberating society can make a democracy participatory. This is our sole objective and we shall achieve it.

Graft graft go away…

Corruption in the country is as common as anything one could imagine. But there is a ray of light. The civil society is on an effective march against the menace

Amitabh Shukla / New Delhi

Anna Hazare and his movement against corruption has caught the imagination of the nation. Never before had the civil society forced the government to act so decisively against graft and in favour of a Jan Lokpal Bill which threatens to eat into the vitals of corruption and make the country rid of the menace once and for all.

Not surprisingly, after Anna launched the movement from Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, the government was in a “moral pressure” and forced to act decisively against top corporate honchos, involved in the 2G scam, Suresh Kalmadi, who is seen by many as the man responsible for the loot of public exchequer in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games and even the prominent functionaries of the UPA allies like the DMK by getting its members charge sheeted.

Many see the swift action as a direct fallout of Anna’s movement and the zero tolerance which the people have now developed towards corruption – a cancer which has thwarted the development of the country for decades.

The anti-corruption movement has been criticized, even lampooned and trivialized by the vested interests. We feel that some of the personalities associated with the movement against corruption could have indulged in some aberrations and should not be spared if found guilty of any wrong doing. However, we should never lose sight of the bigger picture – the drafting of the Jan Lok Pal Bill. Personalities are not important the issues are and corruption is definitely such an issue.

Attempts have been made to derail the bill by the political class and a section of the media by following a policy of selective amnesia. We clearly believe that this is a diversionary tactics to deflect from the issue of corruption. The critics of Anna and those against the Bill can make their “learned assessments” after the draft Bill comes in the public domain, discussed in Parliament and then passed. We do not believe in anarchist theories which do not give solutions but merely pose questions, one after the other. Let the doubting Thomases eat a humble pie on this question.

The attempts to discredited and underestimate the genuine anger of growing sections of the public against widespread corruption at various levels of the political leadership and bureaucracy is a knee jerk reaction to the popularity of Anna, a Gandhian of immense stature. The mud-slinging went to comic extent to sow the seeds of confusion amongst the people. But ultimately, the political leadership of the country saw the futility of bringing in CDs, land deals, character assassination, funding of NGOs into the larger picture of the fight against corruption.

Soon after starting, the movement threatened to spread far and wide across the country and attracted the support of growing sections of the youth, which had till now shown little interest in the campaign against corruption. The participation of the youth, though not comparable to the JP movement of the 70s, forced the government to accede to the demands of framing a Jan Lokpal Bill.

The demand for the creation of a position like the Jan Lokpal has been there since 1969 and ironically, none of the governments in power since then took it seriously, including the Janata Party government in 1977 and the Janata Dal government in 1989, both of which made corruption a national issue, mobilized the youth of the country and won elections on this count.

In the last two years, people of the country have seen what shape and form corruption has taken place - a monster out to gobble everything in sight. A series of scandals relating to the loot of public funds, or the twisting of rules to benefit high and mighty, broke in the country late last year. These included the Commonwealth Games, 2G spectrum allocation, Adarsh society scam in Mumbai, a series of corruption cases against ministers in Karnataka etc. These are mere indicator and the tip of iceberg of how widespread corrupt practices are, in the states and at the Centre.

This is the reason why people are now asking questions relating to discretionary powers enjoyed by ministers and senior officials, and the creation of a Lokpal, or ombudsman, at the Centre. When there is no hope for the citizens, Anna emerges as the beacon at this point of time, catching the imagination and the thought process of the country.

Some want the Prime Minister kept out of the purview of the Lokpal. But the question which we ask is whether this is acceptable in a democratic system? Why does the office of the PM needs to be shielded from vexatious and motivated quarters? Similarly when there have been insinuations against the judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court, wouldn’t it be prudent to bring them too under the Lok Pal. After all how many judges of the country have been impeached since Independence for their acts of commission and omission? None. Is there anyone in the country who can stand up and say with confidence that all the Judges are honest to the hilt? If not, then bring them also under the purview of the Bill.

Even though the main target of attack on corruption and the Lokpal Bill has been the ruling UPA, all political parties are aware that they are under attack as very few have shown the will to fight against the menace in the states where they are in power or at the Centre when they were in office at some point of time. Anna’s movement has clearly shown that they can no longer afford to ignore the mood of the nation. If they do so, it will only be at the cost of their own political fortunes.

Along with the Lokpal Bill, more measures are needed to weed out corruption and usher in development. If money, which goes into the pockets of politicians, bureaucrats, corporate houses etc due to corruption and then finds its way in the Swiss banks, benami deals, hawala trade and is routed back to the country through questionable means is stopped, a lot of money would remain available to remove curses like poverty, illiteracy, hunger, malnutrition and other maladies which affect our society.

Besides, grant of genuine autonomy to the CBI and the CVC would be a move in right direction along with the creation of a similar and effective institution at the state level. Both these institutions have been suffering at the hands of whoever is in power. Genuine autonomy would shield these institutions and help in the fight against under the table deals.

There could also be a case of state funding for elections to root out the malady. A separate debate should begin on state funding, holding elections only once in five years and removing the aberrations which have crept in the electoral system over the years. The resent Assembly election in some of the states indicated how ill-gotten money is used indiscriminately to influence the voters.

But above all, there has to be an institutional mechanism in the country to fight graft. A national consensus has to be built around such a mechanism and we are sure when the Parliament takes up the Jan Lokpal Bill for discussion and passing and the draft Bill comes in the public domain, such a consensus would emerge.

ashukla.mail@gmail.com

Corporate India concerned on corruption

Is there a silver line at the end of the tunnel? Indian corporates believe corruption is the biggest stumbling block in development.

Sopan Correspondent / New Delhi

With India aiming for a 9% GDP growth, the rising level of bribery and corruption cases have cast a dark cloud on the growth story and threatening to derail it.

KPMG Forensics conducted an extensive survey among leading Indian corporates to an insight into the challenges faced by them due to corruption, the report of which was released last month.

The findings of the survey are an aye-opener. 68% of survey respondents believe that India can achieve more than projected 9 per cent GDP growth if corruption is controlled, 51% respondents fear that rising corruption will make India less attractive for foreign investment. A whopping 90% felt that corruption negatively impacts the performance of stock markets, 99% felt that the biggest impact of corruption on business was its tendency to skew the level playing field while 68% believe that in many cases corruption is induced by the private sector.

Interestingly a majority of the respondents felt that there was no silver lining and corruption level in India will remain at the same level irrespective of the legislations

Deepankar Sanwalka, Head, Risk & Compliance Group, KPMG India said, “We realized that there was an uneasy sentiment among the corporates in India about the recent developments. Through this survey we have tried to find the concerns, apprehensions and the challenges faced by different sectors and have also laid stress on various steps that have to be taken immediately to restore confidence in the Indian economy. This survey is crucial as the global business fraternity is closely watching what is happening in India.”

The survey reveals how the Indian corporate sector is battling corruption and at the same time looking for ways to play a greater role in improving the system to ensure a thriving business environment in India.

“To make this survey a comprehensive one, we have ensured that all major industries are covered. All the participating corporates were keen to be part of this survey and express their concerns about the state of affairs, which they believe has major implications for the business environment in one of the fastest growing economies in the world” said Rohit Mahajan, Executive Director, Forensic Services, KPMG-India.

The respondents to the survey believed that a solid, foolproof mechanism should be put in place by the government to check and arrest the rising cases of corruption and bribery. Strict enforcement of existing provisions under law, for both the taker and giver, is believed to be need of the hour to prevent further erosion of trust and credibility of India’s economic success. The industry appeared poised to actively participate by willing to support a legislation, which will deal with the bribe-giver with equal strictness as that with the bribe-taker.

The corporate sector has also demanded a structured and effective whistle blowing mechanism to report potential bribery or corruption issues; thereby, ensuring more scams come under the public purview, while assuring complete security to the whistleblower. There is also a realization of the importance of implementing new steps within the organization to tackle and prevent promotion of bribery and corruption. Industry bodies have also been advised to take the lead in standing up against bribery and corruption in their respective sectors to ensure a corruption free environment. India Inc strongly believes that its efforts along with the steps taken by the Government of India can go a long way in diminishing corruption.

India Against Corruption initiative

In the backdrop of corruption becoming a national issue in the wake of a series of scams and involvement of high and mighty, a group of Civil Society activists led by Anna Hazare belonging to “India Against Corruption” initiative, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 7.

The group argued that the country expected meaningful reforms to tackle the menace of corruption in public life. The Prime Minister told the group that “I appreciate and share your concerns on corruption”. India Against Corruption representatives presented the PM a draft of their proposal on Lokpal.

The group accepted the PM’s suggestion that a sub-committee of the Group of Ministers could interact and discuss the draft with the civil society activists. The “India Against Corruption” delegation consisted of Anna Hazare, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh, Archbishop Vincent, Kuldip Chikara (Bharat Swabhimaan Nyasa), Darshak Hathi (Art of Living) and P.V. Rajagopal of Ekta Parishad.

Subsequently, the PM constituted a nine-member group of ministers (GoM) to recommend an effective anti-graft mechanism and to discuss the Lokpal bill with civil society activists led by Anna Hazare. Defence minister AK Antony, HRD minister Kapil Sibal, Law minister M Veerappa Moily and minister of state for Personnel V Narayanswami will be the members of this committee.

Though the activists have rejected the latest draft of the Lokpal bill, terming it a cosmetic legislation, the government is hopeful of reaching a consensus. A panel of the government, which has received information from 50 of the 64 Central ministries and departments on the discretionary powers of ministers, has decided to convert their powers into “bonafide duties” of ministers.

It will lay down guidelines on how the ministers will use these powers, which is their discretion for the distribution of sops to individuals and organisations.

Corruption: A never ending malaise

ISSUE

Will the country ever get rid of corruption? The issue has now become the prime concern of the common man

Shitanshu Shekhar Shukla / New Delhi

Constitution of nine-member group of ministers (GoM) by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to recommend an effective anti-graft mechanism and discuss the Lokpal bill with activist Anna Hazare has not stopped the social activist from expressing his apprehensions over passage of the bill in the desired form.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may be an honest person but is remote-controlled which might make it difficult to pass the Lokpal Bill," Hazare said adding that there was a vast difference between the draft of the Lokpal Bill prepared by him and the one by the government.

Even as the GoM was meeting in New Delhi to form a sub panel of four ministers (Defence Minister AK Antony, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, Law Minister MV Moily and Minister of state for personnel V Narayanswami) to start discussions in last week of March, Hazare was tearing into the UPA government.

"When I discussed the issue with the prime minister, he refused to accept all the proposals I had suggested. I then urged him to make some changes from both the sides. The government alone should not formulate the Lokpal Bill and it should be autonomous like court. It is only in such a case that the government would not be able to interfere it its functioning. Organisations like CBI and central vigilance commission should also be covered under Lokpal Bill," he said.

Anna Hazare was alluding to his recent meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over Lokpal Bill. He was carrying with him the disconcerting voices of the common men perturbed over the season of scams. Hazare came out much disappointed to hear the ‘honest’ Prime Minister say no to including within the probing ambit of the bill almost every executive including the Prime Minister himself.

The season of scams included alleged theft of billions by officials behind last year’s Commonwealth games in Delhi; $40 billion in revenues lost from the crooked sale of 2G telecoms licences; and over $40 billion stolen in Uttar Pradesh alone from schemes subsidising food and fuel for the poor.

Dismayed over rise of corruption-related petitions by more than 50%, the apex court recently blurted out “what the hell is going on,”. The Supreme Court’s anger reflects growing cynicism among the hapless populace. Appointment of a tainted bureaucrat as anti-corruption chief had already raised eyebrows among the liberal forces.

Eventually, he was forced out. But the people had seen Manmohan defend the tainted bureaucrat to his fault. And when it came to share the accountability, Manmohan found in Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan a willing scapegoat. Graft is hardly new in India. But there seems to be more of it for everyone than ever before. India is getting richer fast. The faster the economy grows, the more chances arise and the more mind-boggling is graft.

Foreign businessmen, who have slashed investment over the past year, rank graft as their biggest headache behind appalling infrastructure. Till recently, corruption evoked little more than shrug of shoulders. Threshold of tolerance had gone up. After all, corruption does not seem to be stopping India from growing. Now, it has served to break the unspoken truce between the opposition and the ruling regime. Because everyone prospered from spate of scams. Impending assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala may reflect, if at all, a sense of unease among the citizens over corruption taking roots.

Inspite of usual political noise against corruption, the voters are generally swayed over by cash, caste and communal creeds. The BJP appears to have won a few brownie points though a general election is not due until 2014. By boycotting parliament, it closed most of the winter session, until it won the inquiry into graft that it had demanded. It had a ripple effect and the press, the courts and street protesters picked up the campaign. The opposition may be hoping to make the 2 G scam another Bofors which cost the congress win in 1989.

Alive to the threat, Singh and his (and Congress’s) boss, Sonia Gandhi, want people to believe that the nation will soon see sweeping reforms (some suggest the reforms could radically change the policy making process) across the board. These may include state funding for political parties, the removal of discretionary powers abused by politicians and civil servants, and the ratification of a UN corruption convention.

There is no cause to believe such statements. Because most are forgotten as soon as they are spoken. But if they want, there are many books from which to take a leaf out of. Bihar is a recent entry to the list of states changing for better. They might do well to look no farther than this state where elected officials and civil servants must now publish a list of all their private assets or fear suspension. It was, is and, to a great extent, will continue to be a flourishing industry.

Nature of the state is the root cause of corruption. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” goes the adage. But more and more people are joining the civil movement against the graft. They are coming to the view that corruption raises costs not just to Indians, but also to the foreigners whose capital India needs. Thanks in part to the recent spate of scandals, India’s stockmarket was the worst-performing outside the Muslim world over the past year. According to Hazare, around 60 lakh persons, mostly youngsters, have supported the agitation and shown interest in the movement.

Participation of the youth in the fight against corruption has created optimism. "The Prime Minister asked for a time limit on the Lokpal Bill and we decided to wait till April 4. If concrete steps are not taken by then, a country-wide agitation would be launched from April 5," he said. It will also help if the agitation brings to senses those at the helm before treasury is thrown open for ambitious development projects.

Some mechanisms must be instituted to check the graft before the next five year plan commences next year. Because about $1 trillion is expected to be spent on roads, railways, ports and so on, with billions more on re-equipping the armed forces and welfare. As ever land, water and minerals will be much scarcer commodities. This all makes for a monsoon of bribes. Besides RTI, web is helping.

There are Websites, led by ipaidabribe.com, to reveal the cost of graft by publicising the details of bribe demanded. Some states have even the bids for state contracts being run online so that anti-corruption bodies may keep tab on them. The central government’s scheme to implement a universal, computerised ID would allow welfare payments to be paid into individuals’ bank accounts, eliminating space for state workers. shitanshushukla@hotmail.com