: Nagaland state vigilance commission (SVC), along with the rest of the country, will be observing ‘Vigilance Awareness Week’ from October 25 till November 1.
State chief minister Neiphiu Rio, in his message on the occasion, said the state vigilance commission was playing a commendable role in fighting corruption in the state and urged upon the department personnel to rededicate themselves to their “noble profession.”
Referring to Transparency International survey carried out in 2009 in 180 countries where India ranked 84th in Corruption Perception Index, Rio stated that corruption, largely identified with abuse of official authority, was now observed by the central vigilance commission as an “endemic” to the Indian society.
Also citing that the controversies arising from the conduct of the recently concluded Commonwealth Games indicated how deeply rooted and institutionalized corruption was in the society today, Rio asserted that corruption perpetuated inequalities, caused poverty and human sufferings and tarnishes the image of a nation globally.
He stated that success in removing corruption depended on the determination and commitment of each and every citizen of the country- including politicians, officials, businessmen or even ordinary citizens.
It requires identification and documentation of the root causes of corruption, then proper sensitization of the public and all stakeholders so that the collective efforts could help in eradicating the disease from the society, Rio stated while pointing that
lack of awareness and lethargy of the general public also provided a fertile ground for corruption to breed.
Stressing that such occurrence should be changed, Rio called upon the state vigilance officers to rededicate themselves to the noble task, and continue to perform their duties without fear and favour.
Meanwhile, state vigilance commissioner Metongmeren Ao IAS (Rtd.), in his address on the occasion of Vigilance Awareness Week, said the Nagaland state vigilance commission, created April 1976, today possessed a better structural organization than that of the central vigilance commission as the latter was dependent on an outside agency- the CBI, while Nagaland SVC has its own investigating agency – the vigilance & anti-corruption directorate for investigating offences of both vigilance and anti-corruption in nature.
Maintaining that corruption has become institutionalized with an elaborate system surrounding it, the state commissioner said the responsible citizens of the state had every right to demand transparency and accountability from those public servants who have been entrusted with the running the affairs of the state.
He stated that the task of vigilance in the government was to identify points and places of corruption and develop steps to plug such loopholes to maximum possible extent, without affecting the pace or quality of field operations.
Whenever any fraud or misconduct comes to light, it is necessary not only to enquire into the same but also to take steps to ensure that such fraud or misconduct would not happen or would at least be minimized later, Metongmeren said.
He however maintained that the mere existence of the SVC did not mean that various government departments could relax their approach to vigilance, with the preconception that the vigilance & anti-corruption agency was responsible for ensuring vigilance. Every disciplinary authority is expected to ensure that there is no misconduct committed by its employees, he said.
Metongmeren Ao also stated that the government, having felt the need to strengthen vigilance machinery in the state due to acute stagnancy, augmented the present strength of anti-corruption police wing by creating several posts, for which recruitment process has been completed. He informed that the new recruits would be inducted for investigation works after completion of basic police training and specialized trainings conducted by the CBI.
He also said the SVC’s anti-corruption police would further be strengthened by the induction of three more officers, who were likely to join by the end of the year after completing basic police training from NEPA, Barapani.
Meanwhile, on the recent SIT report regarding the status of bogus appointment of teachers, the state vigilance commissioner said that the SIT vigilance while ensuring that justice was done, further endeavored to expedite the status of the remaining 41 teachers who have been placed under “awaited” category due to non receipt of confirmations. Other than that, cases of the rest of the teachers were concluded, he said, and added that the state government had so far already terminated the services of 84 teachers in the bogus category, basing on SIT vigilance’s findings.
Further, Metongmeren Ao asserted that the officers and staffs of the directorate of vigilance & anti-corruption have contributed immensely in promoting vigilance health by creating awareness amongst government servants, public servants and the public in the state, with their efficient handling of cases of highly sensitive nature, despite “numerous threats and intimidations” received from various quarters.
He also called upon all citizens of the state to step forward and extend their co-operation in helping the vigilance commission in combating corruption and thereby bring about a corrupt-free society.
No. of cases investigated and disposed
2007-2008
Finalized 52 cases
Various penalties & convictions imposed 22 officials in 21 cases.
Dropped due to lack of material evidence 31cases.
2008-2009
Finalized 18 cases.
Various penalties & convictions imposed 43 officials in 18 cases.
Dropped due to lack of material evidence NIL.
2009-2010
Finalized 23 cases.
Various penalties & convictions imposed 13 officials in 13 cases.
Dropped due to lack of material evidence 1 case
Pending Trial in the court 9 cases
fraudulent payments stopped & recoveries made
Pension Fraud (Try & Accts & AG). ` 395 lakhs.
Road Link Project (R & B). ` 1225 lakhs.
PWD VRS Scam- 2008. ` 834 lakhs
Bogus Appointment of Teachers (DSE) 2002 to 2009 ` 3000 lakhs
Total ` 5454 lakhs
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