New Delhi: The Central Vigilance Commission
has sought an exclusive investigation bureau under it to deal
more efficiently with
cases of corruption and ensure speedy
prosecution.
"There is need for creation of a dedicated investigation
wing as certain important cases are enquired into directly by
the Commission," Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar
said.
At present, the CVC refers to the CBI cases pertaining to
criminal conspiracy among others.
"The CVC has been mandated by the Act to exercise
superintendence over the entire vigilance administration.
However, the Act requires the CVC to exercise this function
according to the directions issued by the government, thus
limiting its independence," Kumar said.
The Commissioner said that the CVC also plans to enhance
the standards of vigilance investigation by improving certain
guidelines.
"Prevention has to be combined with strong deterrent
action against officials found guilty of unethical behaviour.
Our aim would be to deal ruthlessly with acts of corruption
while at the same time ensuring that the honest have nothing
to fear," he said.
"To make the work of vigilance more objective and
efficient, the Commission is developing standards for the
conduct of vigilance investigation and reporting," he added.
The probity watchdog has also sought adequate manpower
and resources.
"The volume of work in the Commission has been increasing
and the existing manpower is proving to be inadequate. As the
Act does not give staffing powers to the Commission, we have
requested the government to provide the necessary staff,"
Kumar said.
The CVC is enquiring into high profile cases including
irregularities in the Commonwealth Games among others.
According to the Commission`s latest performance report
for July, about 1,681 corruption cases were disposed off and
recoveries of about Rs 5.94 crore were affected.
PTI
