Different local bodies in Delhi like the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and municipal corporations, the railways and banks received maximum number of corruption complaints against their employees last year, according to a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) report. Of the total of 81,494 such complaints received by the Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) of the government organisations concerned ‘in respect of all categories of officers/employees in 2019’, a highest of 16,291 were against “local bodies except government of national capital territory of Delhi (GNCTD), followed by 11,797 against railways and 8,877 against banks,” it said.
The CVOs act as an arm of the CVC to check corruption in government organisations. The local bodies include Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIDC), Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Delhi Transco Ltd (DTL), Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), Indraprastha Power Generation Co Ltd (IPGCL), North, East & South MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the CVC report said. Of these 16,291 complaints against the local bodies, 14,290 were disposed of and 2,001 were pending, it said, adding that 1,748 of these plaints were pending for more than three months time.
The GNCTD received 5,550 corruption complaints last year. Of these, 4,920 were disposed and 630 were pending (including 87 for more than three months), said the Central Vigilance Commission’s annual report for 2019. The annual report was tabled in Parliament during the recently-concluded session and uploaded on the Commission’s website on Sunday.
Of the total of 11,797 complaints received by the railways, 10,502 were disposed and 1,295 were pending (284 for more than three months), the report said. As many as 8,877 complaints were received by banks, of which 7,721 were disposed and 1,156 were pending (606 for more than three months), it said.
There were 4,223 complaints received against staff under Housing and Urban Affairs category including Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC), Hindustan Prefab Ltd., HUDCO, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, NBCC and NCR Planning Board, the CVC report said.
Of these, 2,714 were disposed and 1,509 were pending (1,082 were pending for more than three months), it said.
There were 4,214 complaints against employees under the Coal Ministry (of which 3,828 were disposed), 2,750 against those under Petroleum Ministry (2,236 were disposed), 2,518 against those under the Central Board of Direct Taxes or CBDT (of which 1,211 were disposed), 2,447 against those under Defence ( 2,003 were disposed), 2,378 against those under Telecommunications (2,110 were disposed) and 2,127 against employees under the Ministry of Home Affairs (1,819 were disposed), said the report based on the data submitted by the CVOs.
The Chief Vigilance Officers of ministries/departments/ organisations are required to submit Quarterly Performance Reports (QPRs) of vigilance activities to the Commission. Besides the complaints received by the CVOs, the CVC also got a total of 32,579 complaints during 2019, up from 29,979 in 2018.
“In the year 2019, 35,649 complaints were received (including 3,070 complaints brought forward from 2018), out of which 34,813 complaints were disposed of and 836 complaints remained pending at the end of 2018. Out of these complaints, 6,975 complaints were anonymous / pseudonymous, which were filed in accordance with the Commission’s complaint handling policy,” the report said. In many complaints, the allegations were found to be either vague or unverifiable, it said.
The CVC received a large number of complaints against public servants working in the state governments and other organizations who do not come under the jurisdiction of the Commission or which are of administrative nature, the report said. The CVC had received 23,609 complaints in 2017; 49,847 in 2016 and 29,838 in 2015, it said.
After scrutiny of complaints received, the Commission calls for inquiry / investigation reports from the appropriate agencies only in those complaints which contain serious and verifiable allegations and there is a clear vigilance angle, the report said. As per the laid down procedure, the inquiry / investigation reports are required to be sent to the Commission within a period of three months.
“However, it is observed that in a majority of cases there is considerable delay in finalizing and submission of reports to the Commission. Inordinate delays in submission of inquiry / investigation reports to the Commission are a matter of serious concern. In such situation, the Commission may summon CEOs/CVOs concerned personally with records/documents,” it said.
