Dimapur, May 11 (MExN): The Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO) today submitted a representation to the Nagaland State Chief Minister, Dr Shurhozelie Liezietsu asking for the setting up of a Lokayukta in Nagaland State.
The NVCO said that to have a Lokayukta in Nagaland is “the need of the hour,” considering the corruption prevalent in the state.
It lamented that in Nagaland some officers use their position or status to discriminate somebody or gain something from that person. “Some officers avail or use the services of government employees for their own personal work and benefit,” it added.
The NVCO further pointed out that jobs are being given relatives and family members, and appointments are being made without any advertisement or selection process. It further specified the instances of fictitious and ghost employees, minors and over aged persons.
Regarding favoritism, the NVCO said that there are instances where contract works and tenders are being made “in total violation of all ethics of technicalities.” “The influential section of people taking away the shares of the genuine candidates such as relief, grant, subsidy, etc and also materials meant for farmers/cultivator, villagers, widow, BPL, children, old people or senior citizen, persons with disability, including power-tiller meant for cultivators, etc.”
It also lamented the prevalence of extortion, bribery, embezzlement of funds and fraud which is rife in the state. The NVCO also stressed on the need to fight against backdoor appointment by ensuring “equality of appointment in matters of public appointment.” “It is also the fight against all those employed who have been appointed/recruited in various departments of the Government of Nagaland bypassing the constitutional scheme of public employment through the modus operandi of illegal, backdoor, contractual,” it added.
It stated that the Nagaland Government’s own Office Memorandum dated January 13, 2010 on the subject “reveals the naked truth about the most unethical ‘department ethics’ that has taken a stranglehold on governance in the State.”
It quoted the OM as stating: “It has come to the notice of the Government that a number of unauthorized appointments have been made by certain Heads of Departments on the eve of their retirements without following the prescribed procedure. Now, the Government has taken a decision that all those irregular appointments made by them should be immediately cancelled by the concerned Administrative Heads of Depts. and also criminal prosecution of the guilty officials be taken up by filing an FIR in the Vigilance Commission and all payments of pensionary benefits should be withheld till criminal case is disposed off”.
In light of the above circumstance, the NVCO stated that the setting up of a Lokayukta is urgently required in order to eradicate corruption in the state. This, it stated would provide a clean, transparent, and accountable government of the people.
“The main objective of Lokayukta is to curb the menace of corruption providing within the State. When any individual makes a complaint against the public servant relating to corruption, mal-administration, favoritism, nepotism, etc, the Lokayukta looks into such matters and investigates and if they find out that the allegations are true, the public servant is punished. Public servant includes the Chief Minister, Cabinet Ministers, the MLA, the Vice-Chancellor of Universities, Bureaucrats, Secretaries and the higher-ups of the Government department.
Lokayukta is a great check on corruption, bring about transparency in the system, to make state administrative machinery citizen friendly,” the NVCO explained.
As such, it urged the Nagaland Chief Minister to ensure that necessary action is taken in order to set up the anti-corruption body in the state at the earliest.
