'Lokpal Bill will let locals decide on mines'-rather than a central government body,will decentralization of power on d lines of d gram sabha 14/ 5/11

'Lokpal Bill will let locals decide on mines'

TNN | May 14, 2011, 01.00am IST

PANAJI/MARGAO: The absence of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, due to ill health, appeared to have initially dampened the India Against Corruption (IAC) meet in Panaji on Friday. But as IAC leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh waxed eloquent on the Jan Lokpal Bill, the initial trickle at 5.30pm turned into a sea of people.

Going to the heart of Goa's biggest grouse, Kejriwal told those gathered that the Bill will bring in decentralization which will let locals, rather than a central government body, decide if a mine should be set up in their village.

"The Lokpal Bill will eventually aim at decentralization of power on the lines of the gram sabha," said Kejriwal. "This means that people in a particular village in Goa will be able to decide whether a mine should be granted permission or not in their village. This decision will not be made by a central government agency as is being presently done."

He called for a pledge from the audience that representatives of parties that oppose the Lokpal Bill in Parliament will be boycotted in Goa. The response was overwhelming.

The cheers got louder as IAC leaders spoke against illegal mining in Goa and took potshots at education minister Atanasio 'Babush' Monserrate. Monserrate was detained by customs officials at the Mumbai airport last month for carrying foreign currency beyond permissible limits.

Former IPS officer, Kiran Bedi, told the audience, "Goans gathered here should form their own body of seven to 15 prominent citizens and should begin drafting their own Lokayukta Bill."

She said, "We can plunge into the movement wholeheartedly only when we look at this fight from the point of view of why is money from my tax being misappropriated."

"Come to an agreed Goa citizen's plan 'Goa 2012' and pressurize your government to enforce it," Bedi stressed.

Kejriwal asked Goans to post their suggestions to the Jan Lokpal Bill on the website lokpalbillconsultation.org. He said suggestions found valid will be incorporated.

"There have been attempts to sabotage the IAC movement saying that so many corruption grievances will come to the Lokayuktas that the whole system will die under this weight. I disagree. According to the bill, a penalty will be deducted from the officer's salary if a citizen does not get his ration card, residence certificate, caste certificate etc within 30 days. If an officer's salary is cut 3-4 times, he will surely ensure citizens are not aggrieved again," Kejriwal explained.

He said that at present there is no provision in law that allows recovery of money lost through corruption.

"In the Lokpal Bill, an amount five times of the estimated loss caused by a public representative or officer's act of corruption will be recovered from him once he is convicted," Kejriwal said.

Earlier in the day, Agnivesh exhorted the youth to plunge wholeheartedly into the "second war of independence" to realize their dreams of ridding the country of corruption, whilst treading the path of non-violence.


"Neither the pangs of hunger are most dangerous nor are the beatings of the police. The most dangerous thing for a society is when its youth stop seeing dreams," Agnivesh told the public gathered at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.


He urged the gathering to adopt a spirit of non-violence which he said should become as part of our culture.