Govt to appoint officers to tackle complaints from whistleblowers

A nodal officer will be designated in each ministry to look into complaints of corruption received from whistleblowers, the government said on Friday. The decision is aimed at speedily dealing with graft issues.

The Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO), who acts as the distant arm of Central Vigilance Commission, of each central government ministry or department will be the “Designated Authority” to receive complaints under the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informer’s Resolution (PIDPI) or whistleblowers’ resolution.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Thursday. The Cabinet cleared a proposal to amend Whistleblowers’ Protection Bill, 2012.

Until now, the CVC is the designated agency to receive complaints from whistleblowers - a term given to people who expose corruption in government departments.

“The workload of the Commission has increased and the number of complaints under the PIDPI Resolution has also increased. The Government has therefore, felt a need to designate additional authorities for receiving complaints under PIDPI,” an official statement here said on Friday.

The proposed post-facto amendment would enable speedy disposal of the complaints and would make the public servants more responsible and accountable in their efforts in helping the Government towards combating and eradicating corruption.