After having initiated penal proceedings against close to three dozen Government officials on the basis of direct complaints, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) now aims to pre-empt corruption across departments offering public services.
According to a senior Government official, the ACB would, over the coming days, step up interaction and feedback sessions with officials across the hierarchy of Departments involved in direct communication with the residents of Delhi requesting them to reduce both the time-frame required to deliver on their services as well as the gap between the former and the latter.
This, sources said, was in addition to general instructions encouraging officials to come forth with complaints of graft against co-workers and colleagues as and when these came to their notice.
“Corruption seeps in when services which should be time-bound are not delivered within deadlines and when touts and agents are allowed to fill the gap that should not exist between members of the public and Government officials appointed to deal with them,” said a senior Government official.
“Just like the concept of ease of business, the concept of ease in delivery of services is very important when it comes to the relationship between the Government and the general public. We have asked officials to be as sensitive to the latter as possible,” the official added.
Several Departments which directly dealt with the public on a daily basis, according to a source, were already under the watchful eyes of the ACB for any procedural discrepancies; more would be added to the list over the coming days.
The official said while arrests under the Prevention of Corruption Act served their purpose as deterrents against graft corruption would not be allowed to take root if the ACB itself continued to function in a transparent manner when it came to dealing with the public at large.
“Although the 1031 helpline and several other avenues exist to report instances of graft, efforts to encourage more and more members of the public to step forward and get in touch with the ACB with complaints pertaining to it will be pursued to address procedural lacunae in the delivery of time-bound services,” the official added.
Corruption seeps in when services, which should be time-bound, are not delivered within deadlines, and when touts and agents are allowed to fill the gap that should not exist between the public and officials
