There is rising public anger against corruption and the people's tolerance level is declining, Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar said here on Monday.
“Much of the public ire and frustration can be attributed to the prevalence of petty form of corruption, especially in the delivery of basic public services. Such corruption has a direct impact on citizens and renders socio-economic development programmes ineffective,” he said, addressing a gathering at the fourth anniversary celebrations of Vigilance Study Circle, Bangalore chapter.
This anger, he pointed out, was because the country had seen economic progress, spread of education and greater awareness through better communication and people expect better quality of governance. However, corruption had corroded every organ of public life.
Punishing corruption
Expressing concern over public procurement being highly vulnerable to corruption, he said the Government was in the process of enacting a law. “Through this provision, any citizen can seek punishment and recovery of money from any contractor who charges the Government extra but delivers less than the contracted quantity or quality of goods and services.”
The Judicial Accountability Bill, Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials Bill 2011, electoral reforms and Company Bill 2011 were all designed to prevent corruption and improve corporate governance. Referring to the observations of the Supreme Court order in the 2G case on January 31, he said it had empowered private citizens to fight corruption.
