Poll fallout: Centre to keep close watch on grant of funds
NEW DELHI: With election results delivering a sharp message that corruption angers voters, the Manmohan Singh government is moving to drastically prune discretionary powers of ministries so that only the ministry of home affairs is mandated to disburse grants and compensations.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi had asked Congress chief ministers at the Burari party conclave in December last year to give up their discretionary powers and it is one of several anti-graft measures before a group of ministers headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee which has not been able to meet too frequently.
The Anna Hazare agitation and polls to five states distracted the government but both events made it amply evident that the government cannot drag its feet on tackling corruption. The civil society wrested a joint drafting committee for the Lokpal bill and DMK's grisly fate in the Tamil Nadu polls silenced denials about the 2G scam's political fallout. In the days leading up to Friday's election results, the government leadership bit the bullet and decided to work through bureaucratic and political resistance to meaningful reduction in discretionary powers of various ministries despite efforts to argue that these were either marginal or necessary.
Government sources said some ministries submitted they did not enjoy the discretion attributed to them but there were powers in terms of appointments, using facilities of public sector units and in some cases land allotments. "Almost all these powers will now be done away," the source said.
With the Lokpal bill on a statutory anti-corruption ombudsman now being dealt with by the drafting panel, the government plans to announce its decision on discretionary powers which will be the restricted domain of the home ministry as it has to respond to undertake disaster relief and deal with compensation demands.
"MHA will be the sole repository of discretionary powers as it is the ministry concerned with security, disaster management and Centre-state relations," sa id the source.
The government has already decided to accept recommendations that sanction for prosecution by the concerned ministries be decided within three months. This is to plug loopholes that can be exploited by corrupt and well connected officials while also victimizing those unfairly accused.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi had asked Congress chief ministers at the Burari party conclave in December last year to give up their discretionary powers and it is one of several anti-graft measures before a group of ministers headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee which has not been able to meet too frequently.
The Anna Hazare agitation and polls to five states distracted the government but both events made it amply evident that the government cannot drag its feet on tackling corruption. The civil society wrested a joint drafting committee for the Lokpal bill and DMK's grisly fate in the Tamil Nadu polls silenced denials about the 2G scam's political fallout. In the days leading up to Friday's election results, the government leadership bit the bullet and decided to work through bureaucratic and political resistance to meaningful reduction in discretionary powers of various ministries despite efforts to argue that these were either marginal or necessary.
Government sources said some ministries submitted they did not enjoy the discretion attributed to them but there were powers in terms of appointments, using facilities of public sector units and in some cases land allotments. "Almost all these powers will now be done away," the source said.
With the Lokpal bill on a statutory anti-corruption ombudsman now being dealt with by the drafting panel, the government plans to announce its decision on discretionary powers which will be the restricted domain of the home ministry as it has to respond to undertake disaster relief and deal with compensation demands.
"MHA will be the sole repository of discretionary powers as it is the ministry concerned with security, disaster management and Centre-state relations," sa id the source.
The government has already decided to accept recommendations that sanction for prosecution by the concerned ministries be decided within three months. This is to plug loopholes that can be exploited by corrupt and well connected officials while also victimizing those unfairly accused.
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