By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Various social organizations of the state on Monday threatened to march towards the State Assembly, if the Government does not take any step to appoint an independent Lokayukta by replacing the existing Lokayukta Act by a new one to make it more powerful.
The winter session is scheduled for three days from December 11.
The NGOs also decided to hold a series of awareness campaign throughout the State to fulfill their demand for the constitution of the independent Lokayukta in Meghalaya, to investigate the acts of corruption and prosecute those involved. The resolution to launch a campaign for an independent Lokayukta was unanimously taken by the interest groups which comprises of KSU, FKJGP, HNYF, HANM, CSWO, AJYWO, Lympung Ki Seng Kynthei, Synjuk Kynthei Catholic, Bethany Society, Khasi Jaintia Welfare Association, Youth 4 Change, North East Network and other concerned individuals at the Don Bosco Youth Centre here on Monday. The campaign will present a draft Bill to be moved in the coming Assembly session which involves repealing the defunct and toothless and not yet implemented body based on the Meghalaya Lokayukta and Up Lokayukta Act 2002. During the meeting, the Meghalaya Right to Information Movement (MRTIM) impressed upon the need for constitution of an “effective and independent” ‘Lokayukta (people’s commissioner).
“We shall try and make it an election issue by creating a movement,” MRTIM chief Michael Syiem said at the meeting while pointing out the fact that it was because of an “awareness movement” that implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act has been relatively successful in Meghalaya.
Maintaining that the existing Act, for which rules were framed in 2007 was a “weak law”, which has not been implemented for the last ten years, RTI activist Angela Rangad pointed out that it does not have an investigative wing and has to depend on government bodies.
Terming the existing law as “dead and defunct”, Rangad said the MRTIM has already drafted, what it considers as an “effective law”, which envisages a three-member Lokayukta, as per which an act of corruption would mean “anything made punishable” under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
