*Calls for zero tolerance towards corrupt practices
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 7: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today launched Mobile Application ‘Satark Nagrik’ and Departmental Vigilance Officers Portal of J&K Anti Corruption Bureau at the Civil Secretariat.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lt Governor observed that the UT Government is taking comprehensive measures for ensuring transparent, accountable, and responsive governance.
Taking a yet another step in this direction, the mobile application launched today has been developed with a purpose to facilitate seamless flow of information about corruption and enable citizens to submit their grievances with ease and mobility. Any citizen having an android based device can download the application from play store. A unique ID number will be allotted at the time of registration of grievance which later can be used to track the status of grievance.
The Lt Governor remarked that the most effective antidote to corruption is an active, involved, and empowered citizenry. “Each one of us must set new benchmark by adopting zero tolerance for corrupt practices. It must be understood that all the malpractices, nepotism and other such practices, be it governmental or other organizational, hurt the common citizen and the governance. Therefore, we must all join hands and pledge to root it out of the system”, the Lt Governor observed.
Terming effective use of Information Technology and dissemination of information to all stakeholders through web portals / mobile applications as a key player in curbing malpractices, the Lt Governor said such interventions will help us to create efficient, transparent and accountable systems with no scope for arbitrariness and discretion while enabling better quality and efficient delivery of services.
The Departmental Vigilance Officers (DVO) Portal has been designed to enable an online communication channel with the DVOs of various departments. In certain cases, the complaints are related to ongoing works, current recruitments, and payments yet to be made against contracts etc. By referring these matters to DVOs, violations/ shortcomings can immediately be rectified and loss to the state exchequer can be prevented.
Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, GAD informed the Lt Governor that a huge number of pending complaints at the level of DVO’s and other levels necessitated the need for use of technology to ensure real time monitoring mechanism of these complaints.
The DVO portal will go a long way in streamlining the disposal of corruption complaints, besides helping the DVOs to submit fact finding reports. It will help to redress grievances in a systematic manner by enabling monitoring of the status of DVO matters and Citizens Grievances assigned to DVOs at ACB Central Office. Through this portal, periodical reports can be generated on the basis of pendency and disposal of each DVO, he added.
During the program, the Lt Governor instructed the officers for exploring possibility for developing a similar application for keeping track of various pending court cases department-wise and real time information about the status of those cases for generating reports and enabling their disposal in a much more systematic manner.
A detailed briefing was given by Anand Jain, Director ACB on the recent Performance of Anti Corruption Bureau. It was outlined that during the Lt Governor’s administration, the crusade against corruption has taken a new leap and ACB has tightened the noose on the corrupts with Recovery/ Seizure of funds to tune of Rs.202 crore in one of the cases, increase in trap cases, attachment of assets worth crores and arrest of high profile officials/ persons.
It was also informed that up to 31st December, 2020, 71 cases were registered. 48 cases were charge-sheeted during the period. Out of total registration of 2020, 10 cases were registered as trap cases in which the government officials were caught red handed while demanding and accepting bribe from the public in the course of their duty, whereas 08 Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases were registered.
Investigation of some of the cases was completed in record time and a good number of cases have resulted in conviction, wherein some high ranking public servants have been found guilty of criminal misconduct.
BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, General Administration Department (GAD); Anand Jain, Director ACB and other senior officers were present on the occasion.
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