The Delhi Government’s vigilance department has formed eight teams comprising 40 vigilance officials that will keep an eye on the 60 departments. This is being viewed as a parallel vigilance department to maintain a watch on the activities of the various departments though the teams will work under the existing vigilance set-up. The Government has now made it clear that officers deputed in the vigilance wing should not be given any other work by any department so that they could fully concentrate on their vigilance monitoring.
An order to this effect issued by Secretary (Vigilance) Sukesh Kumar Jain said, “For the effective functioning of the vigilance wing in a department, the officer heading it should be able to function independently. The Government has also ordered that about 40-odd surplus posts lying vacant in various departments for the past few years should be transferred to the Directorate of Vigilance”.
The AAP Government’s move to upgrade the functioning of the vigilance wing is being linked directly to its ongoing row with the lieutenant Governor on the control over the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) the anti-graft watchdog of the Delhi Government.
Joint Commissioner of Police MK Meena, who had been appointed as the ACB head by Raj Niwas despite Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s strong reservations, had gone on record, saying that his reporting authority was the lieutenant Governor and nobody else.
The main job of the Vigilance Officers would be to look after all complaint matters, including corruption, to pursue the pending vigilance matters related to Gazetted Officers with the concerned departments for submission to the Directorate of Vigilance for further examination. Moreover, they will also keep watch over the activities in the departments so that corrupt practices are detected and eliminated, giving advice to HODs for strengthening their internal vigilance set-up and also to suggest remedial measures for speedy disposal of vigilance matters and the specific works assigned by the Secretary/ Director (Vigilance).
According to the order, “such officer should not be given work in addition to the vigilance work…. The head of Autonomous Bodies under the Delhi Government will also not assign any other work to the Chief Vigilance Officers, so that they may be able to function independently.”
The order said, “For independent functioning of the vigilance officers, surplus posts (about 40) of the level of ad-hoc DANICS, Grade-I (DASS) and Grade-II (DASS) in various departments, which are lying vacant for the last 2-3 years, may be transferred by the services department to the Directorate of Vigilance for attachment with the vigilance officers. The services of the existing officers/officials in the respective vigilance units of departments may also be utilised by the vigilance officers for the purpose.”
Jain has also ordered that independent vigilance officers of the rank of the Special Secretary or Additional Secretary should be appointed by clubbing together four or five departments. He said the vigilance officers would be reporting to the Secretary (Vigilance) and not to their concerned HODs.
Jain’s order has specified to club together departments of Health and Family Welfare, Directorate of Health Services and all hospitals, Drugs Control, Food Safety and ISM & H; Education, NCC, Archives, Archaeology, Art, Culture & language and Higher Education; Home, Delhi prisons, Home Guards and Civil Defence, Fire, Forensic lab, Prosecution, law, Justice & legislative Affairs, Administrative Reforms, Information Technology, GAD, Services, Finance, Audit and Planning; PWD, UD, I & FC, land & Building and Power; Trade & Taxes, Excise & Entertainment, Chit Fund, Food & Supplies, Weights & Measurement, Principal Accounts Office and Gurudwara Election; Transport, Information & Publicity, labour, Employment, RCS, UTCS, Tourism & DSSSB; Social Welfare, WCD, Welfare of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities, Environment, TTE, College of Art and DIPSAR; Revenue, Development, Agriculture Marketing, Industries, Election, Economics and Statistics.