SVC recommends CCTV surveillance in Revenue offices, police stations, toll posts

Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Feb 23: In some significant recommendations, the State Vigilance Commission (SVC) has asked the Government to keep surveillance on the working of Revenue, Police and Traffic Police officials including police stations and nakas by covering them with Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs) and appointing a Committee, headed by a senior officer to constantly monitor their observations.
The SVC, headed by Kuldeep Khoda, former Director General of Police (DGP), has proposed that the Government should cover the offices of Deputy Commissioners especially work areas dealing with issuance of state subject certificates, gun licenses, character certificates, category reservation certificates etc with CCTVs.
It suggested that CCTV footage of these offices should be preserved for a period of six months and periodically examined by a Committee, constituted for the purpose, headed by a senior officer of the department to detect any “wrong doing’” by the officers and officials.
The SVC has also recommended that 500 meter areas around all toll posts including Lakhanpur and Lower Munda, police stations including rooms of SHOs and Munshis, police posts, RTO and ARTO offices, BDO offices, Tehsildar, Naib Tehsildar offices and Patwar Khanas should also be covered fully with the CCTVs and their footage monitored by the senior officers.
“The officers/officials in these offices should work under the surveillance of CCTVs and shouldn’t sign any document or issue any certificate at a place, which is not covered by the CCTVs,” the set of recommendations, which has been forwarded by the SVC to the Government, revealed.
The SVC has proposed fixed checking points of the Traffic Police at National Highways and main roads, which, it said, should also be covered by the CCTVs and all kind of activities at these nakas should be videographed and footage preserved for some months to be monitored by the senior officers.
Other offices proposed by the SVC for bringing under surveillance included Municipalities, Sales Tax and Excise, clerical halls of offices having sizeable public dealing, cashier/accounts section of Executive Engineer of all Engineering Departments etc.
The SVC is of the view that these measures would go a long way in keeping a check on corruption as activities of the offices, directly dealing with the public, would be under the watch of third eye.
The SVC has proposed that the Sanctioning Authority for all Engineering Departments works should be different from the executing agency so as to create an inbuilt system check against any corrupt practice.
It recommended that the Revenue Department should strictly adhere to the Public Services Guarantee Act, statutory Rules and Revenue Laws and Rules made there-under while attesting mutations, issuance of Permanent Resident Certificates, category, income and property certificates, fard-intikhab, preparation of relief cases/disbursement of relief and updation of revenue record etc.
Regarding Home Department, the SVC has asked the Government to take steps for getting new Police Act enacted in light of the directions issued by the Supreme Court.
It has proposed that to curb practice of demanding bribe in Government run health institutions especially in maternity hospitals, surveillance should be maintained by installing adequate number of CCTVs.
The Commission has recommended that one police station each in Jammu and Srinagar with provincial territory jurisdiction should be earmarked for dealing with theft cases of power under Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Act.
“All mutations should be arrested in the field in presence of concerned parties/stakeholders, Numbardar, Chowkidar, Sarpanch, Panch and other prominent persons of the village body and no mutation be arrested at the headquarters. This will reduce the number of complaints pertaining to alleged fraudulent mutations,” the SVC said.
It said the Secretary Revenue should clearly specify the documents required for the issuance of Permanent Resident Certificates so that the issue is not left to the discretion of dealing officials.
“This needs to be spelt out on website as well and a list of documents required for issuance of PRC should also be permanently displayed in the offices of all tehsils for information of  public,” it said.

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