Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Corrupt babus under lens, govt to identify graft-prone departments
Corruption to be included as a key indicator in the performance management evaluation of the various ministires. 
Our views
Govt should consider to incorporate SC/ST reservation and welfare measure in the RFD as key indicator to assess the performance of each ministires and department towards SC/ST welfare.
Hard pressed to demonstrate actionable steps on tackling corruption in the wake of recent scams,theUPAgovernmenthas initiated a series of steps to clean up the bureaucracy .

The government has decided toincludecorruptionasakeyindicator in the performance management evaluation of the various ministries that was put in place last year. Moreover, Cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar, who heads a committee of secretaries constituted to look into complaints against senior bureaucrats, has decided to hold weekly meetings for disposalof pendingcases.

The committee, set up last year,comprisessecretariestothe PrimeMinister,theCentralVigilance Commissioner, DoPT, and Secretary (Coordination) in the Cabinet Secretariat. Chandrasekhar was learnt to have written to the concerned ministries seeking clarifications on complaintsagainstbureaucrats.

"Thereareabout20to30cases pending against Secretaries in different ministries. We have decided to hold weekly meetings to dispose of them. Many of these complainants are anonymous andmanyatimechargesarefrivolous. But whenever we have found serious complaints, we have forwarded them to the CVC," said a top bureaucrat who isapartof thiscommittee.

Sources said the complaints against secretaries range from "serioustobanal".Forinstance, there is a complaint against a former Secretary in the ministry of road transport & highways that the NHAI had to pay Rs 27 lakh for his eight-day stay in a five-star hotel. Another high-profileSecretaryfacesalle gation of "rude behaviour".

"Itcouldbeverydemoralising for a senior officer if harassed withfrivolouscomplaints.So,we disposeof suchcasesatourlevel.

But, whenever there is something serious, we treat it with equal seriousness," said a memberof thecommittee.

According to senior officials in the Cabinet Secretariat, ministries will also be asked to identify specific areas in government departments that are potential breeding grounds for corruption. These indicators are to be included in the Results Framework Document (RFDs) that each ministry has to submit to measure their performance levels at the end of the year.

The review mechanism, that sets performance targets for individual ministries, was implemented last year with RFDs being signed between the minister and the secretary in 62 ministries.Theonlyexceptionswere the ministries of home, finance, defence, MEA and PMO besides theplanningcommission.
Source: The financial Express dated 21.02.2011









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