Kuldeep Khoda, Chief Vigilance Commissioner, J&K, called on Governor N.N. Vohra at the Raj Bhavan here today and presented the State Vigilance Commission’s (SVC) report to him.Mr. Khoda informed the Governor that till date there are 8,935 complaints pending with various Departments of the State Government The Vigilance Organisation has sent 884 cases to different government departments for departmental action in the case of all complaints in respect of which, on the basis of evidence collected, prima facie charges have been established against identified officials. So far action has been taken only in 37 cases and the remaining 847 are continuing to pend for varying considerable periods. 262 cases, which were enquired by the State Vigilance Commission, serious charges were established and the same were referred to the concerned Administrative Secretaries for initiating departmental action against the identified officers. He stressed the need for timely action against such offenders. The CVC informed that till 31st March 2016, the Commission received 3,697 complaints out of which 3,271 have been disposed off. Of these, 109 cases have been registered against officers against whom charges were established after enquiry by the Commission.
The Governor was also informed about the recommendations sent by CVC to the State Government for enhancing transparent and accountable functioning of the various government departments. The recommendations include: immediate digitization of revenue records; installation of CCTV cameras in government offices having public dealings; developing online mechanisms for payments by government departments; enforcing compliance of the Public Services Guarantee Act; grant of permissions, clearances and sanctions in individual cases to be made online; implementation of the Supreme Court’s recommendations for promulgation of the New Police Act; amendment of the SVC Act to enforce attendance of all those persons required by the Commission for conducting enquiries; and discontinuation of interviews for recruitments to the non gazetted posts.
Mr. Khoda also informed the Governor about the to-date status of the State Government’s response to the recommendations made by the Commission, which, under the SVC Act, is mandatory to be done within one month. He also stressed the need for the Municipalities in the State not to compound cases against the prescribed rules and regulations.The Governor advised Mr. Khoda to see that the CVC steadfastly continues to discharge its statutory duties to see that the corrupt elements, particularly those occupying senior echelons, are effectively dealt with and all required actions initiated to enhance transparency in the functioning of the public institutions. The Governor expressed serious concern over the indifferent responses of the concerned departments and observed that he would be taking up these issues with the Chief Minister at his next meeting with her.