Honest officials are not liked by the establishment when the whole system is corrupt, said D. Roopa, Inspector-General of Police, Home Guards and Civil Defence, Bengaluru, here on Saturday.
“When the whole system is corrupt, people want those officers who toe their line. But, still honest officers can make a mark wherever they go. They cannot be subjugated for long. They will have a big role to play when society changes,” said Ms. Roopa at ‘Save Our Motherland’ - a seminar organised by Anti-Corruption Movement, Coimbatore.
Ms. Roopa said that security of tenure should become a reality as it affects the performance of good officers. “Constant transfers affect the morale of the officers as they are not able to see a logical end to the project they started. Also, it is a wastage of national resource as the whole system collapses when the officer is transferred,” she said.
Though the Whistle Blowers Protection Act has come to effect, the efficacy of the legislation is in the hands of bureaucrats who implement it. She said that she herself has experienced the trend of bureaucrats unnecessarily delaying providing information to RTI applicants.
The officer, who exposed irregularities in Parappana Agrahara Jail when she was the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Prisons), said that she is yet to get a copy of the report submitted by the fact-finding committee, which inquired the irregularities after her transfer from the post.
“I also applied for a copy of the report as a common man under RTI. I was denied. I went for an appeal which also was denied. Now, I have applied to the information commission,” said Ms. Roopa.
Transparency International has put India at 79th rank out of 136 countries in terms of corruption. In countries that topped the list, citizens raise questions when there is corruption. “We have to inculcate this quality into the young minds,” added Ms. Roopa.
She felicitated 18 honest officials from various departments and 10 whistle-blowers chosen by the Anti-Corruption Movement at the event.
