Depts fail to give comments on 211 complaints to ACS (Vigilance)

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 16

Manohar Lal Khattar government may be swearing by ‘zero tolerance to corruption’, yet various government departments have failed to respond to 211 complaints forwarded by the Additional Chief Secretary (Vigilance) for inquiry and comments.

The Development and Panchayat Department tops with 31 complaints followed by the Town and Country Planning Department (including Haryana Shehari Vikas Pradhikaran) with 25 complaints and Urban Local Bodies with 24 complaints from whom comments are still awaited by the ACS (Vigilance).

Now, taking serious note of reluctance of the departments to take action against them, the Vigilance Department has called the special meeting of the Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) to discuss the issues referred to the departments and action taken on the complaints. There are 211 complaints on which comments of the departments are still awaited.

In a communication to the administrative secretaries and heads of departments (HoDs), the ACS (Vigilance) rued that the Vigilance Department had been sending certain complaints and source reports to the departments for enquiry or comments. “In spite of repeated reminders, no reply has been received,” the communication asserted.

Keeping in view the seriousness of the matter, the ACS (Vigilance) asked the administrative secretaries and HoDs to send only the CVOs of their respective departments for the September 26 meeting along with the latest position of the 211 cases.

Meanwhile, the other departments which are yet to send comments are Cooperation (15), School Education (11), Public Health Engineering, Transport and Home, including police (10 each), PWD (9), Higher Education and Agriculture (8 each), Industries (7), Mines and Food and Supplies (5 each), Environment, Excise and Taxation, Health and Medical Education and Research (4 each), Power, Revenue and Irrigation (3 each), and Secondary Education, Technical Education, Election, Finance (Local Audit), Labour, Women and Child Development, Rural Development and Forest (1 each).