Drive against graft starts yielding results

Published in The New Indian Express, Coimbatore edition,
dated July 19, 2006

By Francis P Barclay

Coimbatore, July 19: The Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005 has started showing results, indicating how it has armed the common man to take on corruption, bribery and red tapism.
Taking recourse to the Act, the Anti-Corruption Movement (ACM), with nine branches in Coimbatore district, has already started fighting irregularities in government organisations.
The Act entitles the common man to get any information regarding the functioning of the government departments and organisations, quasi-government bodies and public sector undertakings.
N K Velu, retired additional superintendent of police and secretary of the district unit of the ACM, says that the agricultural engineering department in the district, entrusted with the duty of providing subsidy for the setting up of drip irrigation facility, was granted substantial amount for implementing the scheme. But complaints reached the ACM saying that subsidies were granted to some fictitious beneficiaries also. The ACM approached the designated public information officer for information pertaining to the subsidy disbursal, but in vain. Then an appeal was made to the chief information commissioner, who, in turn, directed the authorities concerned to furnish the information, after conducting an inquiry. At last, the ACM got the necessary information. It is now planning the next course of action.
The same order of the chief information commissioner also directed the secretary of the agriculture department to instruct all the officials in the department to learn how RTI is enforced.
In a similar case, the ACM asked the district supply officer to furnish him information on the number of ration rice smuggling cases detected, quantity of commodities seized and the action taken. As the official was dilly-dallying, the chief information commissioner's help was sought. The information then provided revealed that in 2004-06, 270 PDS commodities smuggling cases were detected by the civil supply CID sleuths. But only in one case, chargesheet was filed and the accused convicted. In the 269 cases, the accused were let go after slapping a meagre fine on them, though the commodities seized were of high value.
In another case, the ACM received a tip-off that contractors and officials were trying to embezzle a lion's share in the construction of a culvert near Perur. After the movement sought information on the outlay of the project
and its specifications and started inspecting the work, the contractor abandoned the work. Another contractor took up the work and completed it.
In a few more cases, through the information received, irregularities were detected and criminal action initiated.
Now the ACM is urging youth to curb corruption. It organises meetings and workshops in higher educational institutions where students are taught about the evils of corruption and are trained to fight it. The movement enrols students without any subscription.
For any person, who intends to fight corruption, the Act is a knife-edged device.