
Haryana police don’t carry out fair probe: Lokayukta
Recommending strict action against the guilty officials, the Haryana Lokayukta has observed that the state police don’t carry out fair investigation into complaints and asked the BJP government to provide transparent and corruption-free administration to the public.
This comes in the wake of the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government’s claims of having eradicated corruption during its three-year rule. The Lokayukta has advised the government to put in place a long-term plan to eradicate corruption.
Last week, the state government had issued instructions (a copy of the letter is with HT) about the Lokayukta’s recommendations and the need of a prompt action.
The Haryana Lokayukta Act, 2002, gives right to the common man to file complaint against any public servant. But to ensure that no public servant is maligned or dragged into a false case, the Act also has a provision of punishment in case of false complaints.
“The receipt of reference/observation from the Lokayukta should always be acknowledged. If due to administrative or any other reason, it is not possible to take action…then the Lokayukta may be informed well in time,” reads the government’s communiqué, asking officers to take necessary action on the points raised by the Lokayukta.
The competent authority has to examine Lokayukta’s reports and intimate within three months about the action taken. The Lokayukta has observed that the departments were not sending the action taken reports in most of the complaints despite the chief secretary issuing instructions in February 2016 also.
“It is again requested that this schedule may be adhered to meticulously,” chief secretary DS Dhesi has directed all the administrative secretaries.
Question mark on police inquiries
The most hard-hitting observation of the Lokayukta, as per government’s dispatch, is about the police department where fair inquiries are not being made at the police station level.
Lokayukta, Justice Nawal Kishore Agarwal (Retd), has pointed out that strict action against cops involved in such lapses will go a long way in improving police image.
“In order to achieve transparency in the administration, the public servants found guilty of corruption or maladministration should be awarded strictest possible punishment under the law,” the Lokayukta has said.
“For this purpose,” Justice Agarwal has recommended, “it is necessary that the government agencies change their mind set by adopting zero tolerance to corruption and inefficiency.”
While recommending transparent and corruption free administration, the Lokayukta has underlined a long term plan to eradicate corruption from the administration and public life. And to achieve this, the Lokayukta has proposed drastic changes in the school education system by inculcating high moral value based syllabus with emphasis on character building.
Casual approach and missing records
The government has stated that during different investigations the Lokayukta specifically observed that when a complaint is forwarded to the head of the department, for inquiry or reply in 45 days, no action is taken in spite of serious allegations and grievances in the complaint and that such complaints are taken in “routine and very casual manner” by the officers.
In most of the Panchayat Department’s cases, panchayat records being kept in the custody of the sarpanches were missing. The public servants under the urban Local Bodies didn’t cooperate with the Lokayukta in number of cases. “It has been suggested that a very stern action should be taken against the delinquent public servants so that it serves as a deterrent,” reads the communiqué.

‘No teeth’: SC wants stricter OTT rules
- Giving two weeks to the government to come back with its response, the bench then formally recorded in its order that one of the issues that has caught its attention is “uncontrolled and unscreened viewing of films” on Amazon Prime Video and other OTT platforms.

Widen network, say experts as India aims to boost drive
- The roughly 20,000 centres being used for the vaccine drive at the moment are hospitals, private as well as public, while many primary and secondary health centres at present are kept out of the programme.

New Delhi rejects report as ‘misleading, misplaced’
- The external affairs ministry, which too rejected Freedom House’s report, also took exception to the depiction of Jammu and Kashmir in the map used in the document.

OCIs need nod for Tablighi, journalistic work: Centre
- A home ministry spokesperson said these rules prepared by the Foreigners’ Division were part of a brochure issued on November 15, 2019. The rules were consolidated and notified on Thursday.

K’taka ministers move court against airing of ‘defamatory content’
- After the allegations on Jarkiholi, there were unverified reports of several similar videos and other sex scandals against other cabinet ministers.

India set to achieve Paris pact targets before deadline: PM Modi
- India is a signatory to the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

CM in 1st list; DMK-Cong hit stalemate
- On the other hand, the DMK’s stalemate continued with its main and long standing ally, the Congress, on seat sharing.

EC orders removal of PM’s images from vaccine certificates: Officials
- The person said it was imperative that the photographs are removed from certificates distributed in the poll bound states, adding that the system can continue in other states.

PM to head committee, Sonia and Tendulkar among 259 members
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, former President Pratibha Patil, economist Amartya Sen, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, spiritual leader Baba Ramdev, chief ministers of states and senior political leaders are among those included in the panel.

NIA probes Jamaat-e-Islami’s J&K chapter
- According to Indian agencies, the JeI has maintained that J&K is a disputed territory.

YSRC bags all 6 MLC seats unopposed; silent on abolition of legislative council
- Interestingly, the election of the six YSRC members comes at a time when a resolution adopted by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the state assembly in January 2020, seeking abolition of the legislative council, is still pending with the Union home ministry.

Andhra CM Jagan Reddy urges SC to restart Amravati land scam probe
- When the matter came up before a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy on Friday, the bench adjourned it to April 7 as it had no time for a full fledged hearing.

6 new cases of UK’s Covid-19 strain found in Indore, warning issued
- Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also held a review meeting on Friday to discuss with the divisional commissioners the steps being taken to contain the spread of the infection.

Container Corporation of India to push production, end dependency on China
- There is a cost difference of about 25-30 per cent in containers made in India and abroad.

India pushes China for disengagement at remaining friction points on LAC
- After an agreement last month on pulling back frontline troops along with armoured vehicles and artillery from strategic heights around Pangong Lake, the two sides have been unable to make progress on disengagement at other friction points such as Depsang, Hot Springs and Gogra.