Tightening the noose

Ink on the forced retirement order of 63 Government functionaries is still wet when the Government has come out with another strong measure aimed at taking action against corrupt and tainted officials. This time the axe will fall on those of the officials against whom enquiries are pending but have retired in the meanwhile, and the conduct of enquiry remains stalled.
The situation is like this. There are many cases of departmental inquiry going on for quite some time against delinquent functionaries. These officials have retired in the meanwhile. The departments have almost wilfully protracted the inquiry against them in the hope that once they retire, corruption charges brought against them will be hushed up. The High Court had sensed that there was nexus of sort between the delinquent officials and their respective departments. As such the Court had scolded the Government a number of times for not coming up with the factual situation and not disclosing the names of officers involved in 147 cases.
Cornered by the High Court and also committed to eradication of corruption from the administration, the State  Government has made it clear in its statement to the High Court that (i) even if a delinquent official has retired, his pension benefits will remain withheld until departmental inquiry is completed (ii) the departments have been given one months time to submit the complete list of officials with full details who have retired and against whom departmental inquiry is conducted. The High Court had asked the Government to produce the rules of dealing with delinquent officials if they have retired before the inquiry into the allegations against them is completed. The Government has emphatically said that the pension of such persons can be blocked under service rules if it is found that they have retired before the completion of the inquiry.
Whether the Government is disposed to take this step out of pressure from the High Court or whether it has decided to take this decision on its own, it is the right decision and everybody will welcome it. In the first place, we shall not try to mince the words in holding Government responsible for the problem that has arisen in this context. Why should not the department conduct inquiry on war footing when it knows that the incumbent is retiring on such and such a date? Secondly, if the delinquent official has succeeded in hoodwinking the Government, other departments concerned with pension affairs, how come they did not refuse to release his pension and other benefits without examining whether he has obtained a No Objection Certificate from the parent department? There are clear service rules that NOC has to be produced before pension is released.
These questions apart, the Government has made a firm and clear commitment about the measures it is going to adopt in dealing with corruption in administration. We have always emphasized the accountability factor and said that without enforcing accountability and without taking punitive action against the defaulters under law, the rot of corruption may not be stemmed. We had taken up the case of officials who were tainted and against whom departmental inquiry was solicited. Yet since they are influential persons and there is a nexus between them and the higher ups in the departments, they were not only given plump postings but some of them were even promoted without waiting for the report of the inquiry conducted against them. This is unbelievable but it has happened. Therefore the decision of the Government to call them to books whether they have or have not retired is the right thing to do. It is for the first time that such a strong action has been taken. The Chief Minister has repeatedly warned the functionaries that the Government will come down with a heavy hand on the defaulters.

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