Gupta Asks Vigilance Chiefs Of Psus To Root Out Corruption

The introduction of the Lok Pal bill during the last session of Parliament, which covers the Prime Minister too in its ambit, was evidence of the government's commitment to eradicate corruption, he told the CVOs attached to the Central Vigilance Commission. My first message to you...is that public life must be free from corruption. Corruption must be stamped out completely...It is not enough if you catch hold of a few wrong-doers and punish them. Your success does not depend on the number of convictions that you obtain. This is passive vigilance. You should ensure that there is active vigilance, Gupta said.

According to chief vigilance commissioner S V Giri, there are four major causes of corruption: administrative delays; government coming to assume more than what it can manager by way of regulatory functions; scope for discretion in the exercise of powers vested in different categories of public servants; and, cumbersome procedures dealing with various matters which have interface with the public.