Meghalaya Vigilance Commission, ACB non-functional
SHILLONG: Though the state Vabinet last week used a provision of Meghalaya Lokayukta Act to ensure public servants to declare the assets and liabilities every year, the formation of a full-fledged Lokayukta to check corruption cases of the public servants is yet to be accelerated by the Congress led MUA-II government though the Act came into existence since 2014.
Sources said on Saturday that in the absence of any anti corruption body, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of CID which is supposed to probe the corruption cases under Prevention of Corruption Act 1998, has become non- functional .
Moreover, though the Chief Secretary is the State Vigilance Commissioner , there is no State Vigilance Commission in reality in the absence of proper inquiry by the CID into corruption cases of the public servants.
Curiously, the police officer Thuliserry C Chacko who is Dy.SP(ACB), Shillong entrusted to probe the corruption cases, is attached to East Garo Hills police.
There was not a single conviction case since 1996 after the formation of ACB, an official admitted.
The Supreme Court in March this year had allowed an eminent person to become the Chairperson of Meghalaya Lokayukta which was earlier objected by the High Court of Meghalaya.
Sources said that even after passing the hurdle, the state government has not taken any steps to appoint the Chairperson and the required members to Lokayukta.
An official source said on Saturday that no official level meeting was held in the recent times regarding the formation of Meghalaya Lokayukta.
For the last two years, the state government is yet to hold regular meetings to find out candidates to be appointed as the Chairperson and members.
Earlier, a selection committee was formed to appoint a search committee , but the selection committee is yet to meet to carry on with the process of selecting the names for the search committee. While the chairperson of the selection committee is the chief minister, the members are the Assembly Speaker, Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya or a Judge nominated by him, Leader of Opposition and the nominated member M.P. Bezbaruah.
The selection committee is yet to meet for the last two years, and the task of the search committee, which is yet to be formed, is to recommend suitable names before the selection committee for the formation of Lokayukta.
It is the selection committee which finally decide the Chairperson and the members from among the names recommended by the search committee.
The Governor after getting the recommendation from the selection committee will finally appoint the Chairperson and four members of Lokayukta.
It was on March 26, 2014 that the Meghalaya Governor gave assent to the amended Meghalaya Lokayukta Bill 2014.
As per the provisions of the Act, the chairperson of the Lokayukta will be an individual “who is or has been a Chief Justice of the High Court or a Judge of the High Court or an eminent person who fulfils the eligibility of having impeccable integrity and knowledge of anti-corruption policy for at least 25 years”.
The eminent person should have “outstanding ability having special knowledge and expertise of not less than 25 years in the matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, law and management”.
The term of the Chairman and four members is five years, and they can remain in office till the age of 70 as per the Lokayukta Act. The minimum age of the Chairperson and the members should be 45 years.