Government seeks public views online on blackmoney issue

NEW DELHI: The government today created an email id for public to send their ideas and inputs to tackle issues arising out of black money.

 
The email -- bm-feedback@nic.in -- has been created on the server of the National Informatics Centre and the public can send their responses on the subject with immediate effect, a senior Finance Ministry officer said.

"General public can send in their responses and inputs like imposing penalties and making penal provisions to tackle with the issue," the officer said.

 
The government has already constituted a committee headed by Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Prakash Chandra to devise new strategies to deal with the issue. The committee is expected to submit its recommendations in the next six months.

 
The email account will be continuously monitored by Finance Ministry officials and they would place the messages before the committee headed by the CBDT Chairman.

Protecting Whistleblowers Panel wants law to cover PM, SC judges & forces

The government has come under intense pressure to address corruption in high places, with the Parliamentary panel reviewing the much-awaited law on the protection of whistleblowers recommending the inclusion of the PM, the Council of Ministers and of the SC judges in the scope of the law.

Rejecting the original “Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Persons Making Disclosures Bill” introduced in the Lok Sabha last August, the Standing Committee on Law and Justice has further asked the government to cover armed forces, intelligence and security agencies under the ambit of the law to make them accountable.

In doing so, the Committee, headed by Congress leader Jayanti Natarajan, trashed the suggestions of the Ministry of Defence (which wanted the armed forces excused) and those of the Ministry of Personnel, which wanted the ministers (including the PM) left out for the present.

The Department of Personnel earlier told the committee that government officials were anyway covered by the Bill that provided mechanism for people to complain against corrupt public servants and also to protect whistleblowers.

The committee, however, ruled that the armed forces, security and intelligence officials and even members of regulatory bodies like the TRAI and the IRDA must all be made answerable for their acts. “This law will be a historic step forward in the transparency revolution to protect those who dare to bare corruption and we recommend that the government amend it to cover the ministers and higher judiciary. We further hope that the Lokpal Bill Drafting Panel would view our recommendations and draft provisions that ensure harmony and not conflict in all anti-corruption laws. That’s not to say we anticipate conflict,” Jayanti said.

The committee’s stand strengthens the hands of Anna Hazare-led civil society members in the Lokpal Bill panel, who want the PM, judges and the MPs covered by the Lokpal though government members in the panel appear resistant. A cabinet minister on the panel said the committee had no view on the issue and would go by the result of a dialogue.

Meanwhile, whistleblowers can be assured of protection of identities if the government accepts parliamentary panel’s recommendations.

“We have also said the whistleblower’s identity must not be revealed to even his head of department unless he consents to doing so in writing,” said Jayanti, who has recommended the coverage of private sector institutions by the law, which names the CVC and the state vigilance commissioners the complaint redressal authorities.

The panel has further suggested removal of the clause that bars filing of complaints older than five years; removal of a two-year penalty in case of frivolous complaints; mandatory definition of victimisation of the whistleblower, and also protection for the latter’s supporters.

Bring ministers too under its ambit’

The Parliamentary panel, while seeking the inclusion of ministers in the law, said public servants were mere instruments in the acts of corruption and the Bill would not serve any purpose if those wielding actual power were left uncovered.

Source: Tribune News Service, June 12

Service as a legal right;State should deliver without litigation

Providing time-bound government services to harried citizens is a challenge that states are increasingly taking up. Madhya Pradesh was the first in the country to pass the Public Services Guarantee Act 2010. Bihar followed with the Right to Service Act. Global watchdog Transparency International has praised both states for their attempt to limit corruption. Delhi selected five departments last year to clear files in a stipulated time and now the law is ready. UP too has prepared the Janhit Guarantee Act. Punjab has issued an Ordinance, while in Haryana the deputy commissioners have been told to ensure that 15 services are delivered in the given time schedule.

On paper these are commendable moves. Corruption at lower levels is endemic. Government officials from top to bottom sit on files waiting for bribe. Therefore, empowerment of the citizen to seek any of the stipulated services as a legal right and hold the official concerned accountable if the same is denied comes as a pleasant surprise. But there will be problems – though not insurmountable. How many have the time and money to pursue their complaints about petty services with higher or appellate authorities? Officials will be flooded with complaints. Bihar has computerised administrative work and can monitor complaints of deficient services. Officers in charge of under-staffed offices or those not obliging politicians can be harassed with fines.

For the citizen’s sake, the state’s role needs to shrink – from being a “mai-baap” to a facilitator. The official and political mindset should change. Procedures have to be simplified. The citizen should not be treated as a suspect and told to file affidavits. But cheating or fraud, if any, should be sternly dealt with. Most public services can be offered online. Instead of blindly copying Madhya Pradesh’s law states should find less complicated ways to help citizens. Laws can help up to a point. There is no alternative to good governance.

No point talking of a clean administration and not bringing it about

What the common man wants is a foolproof mechanism with the help of which he could break the wall against which he has to bang his head every day. Indeed, there are major differences over vital issues like bringing the Prime Minister and the judiciary under the purview of the proposed Bill, probing MPs’ parliamentary conduct and merging anti-corruption bodies like the CVC, the CBI and departmental vigilance wings into the office of the Lokpal.

Anna Hazare’s movement was only a manifestation of that disillusionment. Whether the Lokpal will be the right tool to curb corruption is secondary. What matters is that the public is sick and tired of the present corrupt system. How to get rid of this menace is what matters the most. But the political class, in cahoots with the business and the bureaucracy, has instead tried to discredit the public protests. Sidelining the Gandhian form of public protests would be dangerous because that would bring into picture the radical elements which swear by violent means of protest. The politicians should treat Anna’s men as their friends instead of adversaries, for they represent the voice of the people. It is no point talking of a clean administration and not bringing it about.  

Election Commission of India; Reforms on the agenda

An attempt to build consensus over electoral reforms will be made in July at a conference of political parties. The conference will deliberate on proposals finalized by the Election Commission after holding several regional consultations in various parts of the country.

Debarring people accused of various crimes from contesting elections as soon as the courts frame charges and greater transparency in the working of political parties through internal democracy and financial accountability are just two of the proposals in the report being prepared. There is also a proposal that the political parties should receive donations through cheques.

Another proposal suggests that nobody be allowed to contest from more than one seat in an election. Presently, if a candidate contests from more than one seat, and wins from all, he is allowed to retain just one seat. This necessitates by-elections, which also amounts to betrayal of the faith of the voter. Meanwhile, India is fast emerging as the ‘Global Guru’ of election management. Having successfully conducted elections since its inception in 1950, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is now gearing up to provide its expertise to the Arab world.

The first country on its agenda is Egypt, where a people’s movement brought down the 30-year-old regime of President Hosni Mubarak early this year. As the Arab nation prepares for parliamentary elections in September, to be followed by presidential polls, ECI’s help has been sought to ensure a smooth election.

The Egyptian side wanted to share India’s experience in areas like voter education and electoral participation, EVMs and technology based election tracking and facilitation systems, confided Akshay Rout, Director General of the ECI. There was also keen interest in the techniques used by the ECI for tracking election processes like SMS, voters’ helpline and videography.

Egypt is not the only country. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) earlier this month invited the ECI for a meeting in Cairo to provide help to other nascent democracies in the Arab region. Mexico and South Africa were the other countries invited for the meeting.

The ECI is also discussing with the governments of Delhi and Haryana for land acquisition and for subsequent construction of a campus for the India International Institute of Election Management at New Delhi. 

In the past, the commission has extended election management support on request to a number of countries, i.e. Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Cambodia, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. It has also signed MoUs with the UN and electoral bodies of Ivory Coast, Mexico, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Brazil and Russia and is in the process of finalising accords with Nepal, Mauritius, Egypt, Thailand and Indonesia. 

Lokpal panel agrees to speed up bill drafting process

New Delhi, May 23 (PTI) The negotiations on a draft Lokpal Bill today gained momentum with Government and civil society members agreeing on a number of basic principles of the proposed law and deciding to meet more often.

Emerging from a three-hour meeting, Union Minister Kapil Sibal expressed confidence draft Lokpal Bill would be ready by June 30, as announced in a government notification, in time for introduction in the Monsoon session of Parliament.

The meeting chaired by Finance Minister Mukherjee took place in the backdrop of co-chairman Shanti Bhushan raising the issue of slow progress on drafting the bill and expressing doubts whether the June 30 deadline would be met.

He said that there was consensus on almost half of the 40 points brought to the table by the Anna Hazare''s five-member team and the discussion on the same would continue when the Joint Drafting Committee meets again on May 30.

Bringing the higher judiciary and the Prime Minister within the ambit of the Lokpal were still sticking points and discussion on the same is expected to be taken up at the next meeting.

Hazare''s team today presented a set of suggestions from some other civil society groups on the Lokpal Bill which also included recommendations of the public hearings on the issue held at various places across the country.

Sibal said that suggestions from other civil activists on the bill were welcome.

He said there was complete agreement on the issue of the authority of Lokpal being independent without any interference from the government.

PTI SKU AMR

Jan Lokpal Bill: Anti-graft crusaders take it to people

NEW DELHI: Social activists sat down with members of the civil society in Shahdara on Sunday to generate awareness on the Jan Lokpal Bill. The public consultation was organized under the aegis of 'India Against Corruption' and 'Corruption Prevention Social Welfare Organization' (CPSWO). 

"We are trying to take the Bill to the people and inform them of its contents. We are reaching out to residents of New Delhi through organizations working in this direction, pamphlets and movies," said Rishikesh Kumar, member of India Against Corruption, at the meet. 

Other speakers included Ramesh Jha, lecturer, mathematics department, Delhi University; Anita Maan, president, CPSWO; and Vijay Saxena, vice-president, CPSWO. The meet was not exclusive to Shahdara, though; it extended to Rohini and Indirapuram, too. Six such meetings have already been held in the capital and plans are afoot to hold at least 60 more meetings in the days to come, said Kumar. 

"In the last 15-20 days, a lot of such activities have taken place across the country. Everyone at the individual level is doing something or the other in this direction. We are seeking public suggestions, which will then be forwarded to the joint committee to improve the Bill," said Arvind Kejriwal. 

Apart from organizing such meets, India Against Corruption is also planning to travel from New Delhi to Bhopal to educate the masses about the Bill against graft. 

"The Jan Chetna Yatra will begin on May 24th and will be a seven-day march, covering areas like Delhi, Faridabad, Mathura, Gwalior, Jhansi etc," said Chauhan. 

He added: "There will be no leaders in this yatra, but about 10 volunteers, who will begin their journey from New Delhi. They will have several stops during which they will hold interactions with people. " 

TOI spoke to a few attendees at the Sunday summit to gauge their reaction to it. One Rekha Yadav said: "I am a housewife and I did not know what the Bill was all about. But today, they told us several useful things about it, including the names of the bodies involved, the right people to approach with complaints, etc. I might not know everything about it, but I do know where to go when I am harassed by corrupt people." 

Source:  TOI May 23, 2011, 05.57am IST