ACAUT welcomes appointment of first Lokayukta

ACAUT Nagaland has welcomed the appointment of former Meghalaya High Court chief justice Uma Nath Singh as the first Lokayukta of Nagaland.

In a statement, ACAUT said people of the State were patiently praying and waiting anxiously for the Lokayukta. Claiming that it had been persistently fighting against the “cancerous growth of corruption” that had spread its tentacles to all systems of governance in the State, ACAUT observed that Lokayukta would now be the “chemotherapy for detection, control and cure of corruption”. It pointed out that with Lokayukta, all public servants – bureaucrats, technocrats and politicians – would be under the scanner for any genuine allegations or grievances. 

Now, any concerned public could file a formal complaint against corruption and maladministration and bring it to the notice of Lokayukta, which would investigate it without fear or favour so that citizens got speedy and timely redressal, it added.

ACAUT therefore appealed to all people of Nagaland as empowered citizens to be ever vigilant and use their rights judiciously in making use of this anti-corruption authority diligently. It hoped that with Lokayukta in place, transparency and accountability in public services would be paramount, making administrative machinery citizen-friendly. 

Hoping that there would be a drastic drop in cases of corruption, the group also appealed to government of the day to give enough teeth and necessary support to Lokayukta so that it could carry out its duties and functions in letter and spirit.

ACAUT also recalled that it had passed a resolution during a rally at Kohima demanding implementation of Lokayukta in the State, besides organising the “Walk Against Corruption” in 2015 from Dimapur to Kohima, which culminated with submission of a memorandum to then chief minister TR Zeliang seeking appointment of Lokayukta in the State.

The statement also pointed out that the Public Coordination Committee had undertaken a series of democratic protests in 2017 that culminated with a hunger strike, where a “gentleman’s assurance” was given by the government to pass the Nagaland Lokayukta Bill in Winter Session of Nagaland Legislative Assembly. Following this, ACAUT held meetings with a government committee and other like-minded organisations for Lokayukta to see light of the day.