By Aires Rodrigues
With the Goa Lokayukta bill now a Law the decks have cleared for the setting up the long awaited Anti-Corruption Ombudsman Authority in the State that will investigate acts of corruption and mal administration by public servants. Proper rules would also have to be framed to ensure the appropriate functioning of the Goa Lokayukta.
With over two months spent on just obtaining the President of India’s assent to the bill, the Chief Minister Mr. Manohar Parrikar will not fulfill his election promise that the Lokayukta would be functional in 100 days.
Under the guise of meeting that deadline there is no point making haste in the appointment that may lead to an inappropriate person heading this crucial authority. The success of this entire anti-corruption mechanism would depend to a large extent on the personal qualities such as the image, caliber, drive, persuasive power, dynamism, and the perception of his role by the Lokayukta. In a State embroiled in rampant corruption the position of Lokayukta cannot be a mere post retirement posting. The incumbent would have to be vibrant, fully charged and geared to attack the cancer of Corruption.
It would be appropriate for the politicians in power to leave the selection of the Goa Lokayukta to the High Court and the Governor. The required consultation with the High Court by the Chief Minister on the selection cannot be a mere cosmetic exercise. It is imperative that the Goa Lokayukta should have total administrative, financial and functional independence of the Government. Otherwise there could be an impediment to the effective functioning of the Lokayukta in pursuing cases of corruption and malpractices against the Government in power. The Lokayukta should be an independent authority to curb corruption by expeditiously investigating the complaints followed by the prompt prosecution of the offenders. It cannot be a toothless watch dog.
The politicians have become so accustomed to manipulating the Police and the Vigilance departments that they may attempt to interfere with the working of the Lokayukta too. This will have to be fiercely and firmly resisted.
It is the Lokayukta that should be entrusted the screening and selection of the entire team of officers and staff that will work under his direction. This would prevent infiltration of party cadres into the Lokayukta whose entire staff must be of impeccable integrity and extra-ordinary ability.
The Old Secretariat at Panaji could be considered to house the Lokayukta. The proposal to use those premises as a Museum should be reconsidered as it would just create further congestion in an already crowded city. The former seat of power would be an appropriate venue for the setting up of the Goa Lokayukta to probe the misdeeds of the current and past rulers.
The issue whether a Goan should head the Goa Lokayukta has to be examined in a wider perspective. Being a small state there could be occasions of conflict of interest with people here closely connected. The family, friend or acquaintance relationships should not prejudice the functioning of the Lokayukta. Also the Lokayukta would have no room to recuse and say “Not before me”.
All said and done it would be better to have a Goan Lokayukta than someone from another State having a political party leaning or worse still an RSS connection or someone being rewarded for some past favours - political or otherwise.
The Chief Minister has publicly stated that he would prefer a ‘local’. Whether he is serious on the same or merely an eye-wash will be clear more particularly since it is however rumoured that Mr. Manohar Parrikar has zeroed on and is inclined towards a retired Bombay High Judge Mr. V.R. Kingaonkar hailing from Maharastra’s Jalna district to be Goa’s first Lokayukta.
The Lokayukta is the government’s conscience, an anti-graft ombudsman at the state-level born out of a need to instill a sense of public confidence in the transparency and credibility of the administrative machinery. While corruption has always been an issue, the levels of corruption have now reached such proportions that the sky seems to be the limit. It has vitiated and affected the morale of the entire administration.
The famous Sanskrit proverb says “Yatha Raja Tatha Praja” (As is the King so are the People). Corruption as it seeps from the top, has rapidly contaminated the lower layers of social and political life. We have witnessed how it has corroded and eaten into the vitals of almost every sphere of the socio-political structure. A Lokayukta of caliber, character, moral strength and conviction may go a long way to remedy the sordid state of affairs Goa finds itself enveloped in.
( the writer can be contacted on 9822684372 or airesrodrigues@yahoo.com )
