Punjab Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal on Monday stressed on strengthening preventive vigilance and surveillance to check delays in order to curb corruption.
Presiding over the first ever meeting of Chief Vigilance Officers of all departments, said that it was imperative for CVOs to have a re-look at procedures and practices that provide scope for harassing citizens, and suggest suitable steps to minimise delays at various levels.
Emphasising on fast track disposal of all enquiries, the Chief Secretary said that CVO was duty-bound to ensure that chargesheets are drafted properly and issued expeditiously and that there is no delay in appointing inquiry officers. He said proper procedure has to be followed in disciplinary proceedings.
Expressing concern over delay in service delivery as against the deadlines imposed by Right to Service Act, the Chief Secretary said that CVO was duty-bound to ensure that citizens are provided all services in the timeframe without any illegal intermediary.
He said all 129 services covered under Right to Service Act relating to civil administration, and 20 by Police Saanjh Kendras, have to be provided to the citizens in a time-bound manner.
“To make public services time-bound, we would have to focus on back-end computerization. Till then, CVOs will have to monitor disposal of references manually by the back-end manpower,” he said.
Stressing on the need for ensuring punctuality, the Chief Secretary said that CVOs were also duty bound to ensure the punctuality of employees in attending their offices.
The failure of CVOs to ensure regularity and punctuality in offices will be seriously viewed, he said. The Chief Secretary said that it was imperative for CVOs to strengthen internal departmental vigilance network and ensure timely delivery of public services.
He emphasised that honest and hard-working employees must be given outstanding reports and appreciation letters, but at the same time, they should also make a list of officers with doubtful integrity and keep a watch on their conduct.
Kaushal said that the process of compulsorily retiring such officers on periodic review of their services after completion of 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of their services has to be meticulously followed by every department.