After receiving a complaint from former Chief Minister and present leader of the opposition, Mukul Sangma on the illegal coal mining and transportation with details of the modus operandi, the Meghalaya Lokayukta observed that the mastermind behind the illegal mining and transportation of coal could be unearthed only through an independent inquiry by a central organization like the CBI. Earlier the Lokayukta’s order for a CBI inquiry into the same issue was challenged in the High Court of Meghalaya. If the anti-graft ombudsman does not have prosecution powers then it might as well not exist. The Lokayukta’s observations that it is public knowledge that the racket is being run by some powerful syndicate against whom no individual citizen could come forward to lodge a complaint and reveal their identity, shows how powerless the Institution of Lokayukta is. In state after state the office of the Lokayukta is reduced to recommending actions to the state governments. Without prosecution powers they cannot take action against the corrupt. In most states the office of Lokayukta lacks basic infrastructure and staff. Politicians conveniently sit on the appointment of a new Lokayukta. The sorry state of Lokayuktas across the country suggests a deliberate attempt to undermine the Institution. In West Bengal and Gujarat there is the Lokayukta Act with no one holding the post. The West Bengal Lokayukta office is manned by two Group D staff.
In Goa, the Lokayukta, Justice (Retired) Prafulla Kumar Misra stated publicly that his powers were severely curtailed. The state government refused to take action on even one of the 21 reports that he submitted against public functionaries during his nearly four-and-a-half-year tenure as the Lokayukta. He even gave an interview saying the institution of Lokayukta should be abolished as the Act is being trashed by all state governments.
Indeed the Lokayukta Act needs urgent intervention and must be given more teeth if it is to have any meaning. As of now the Meghalaya Lokayukta has recommended to the State Government that the CBI be tasked with enquiring into the allegations of illegal mining and transportation of coal. This is like asking a cat to stand guard over meat. It is public knowledge that coal is mined illegally and also transported in a blatantly illegal manner with the full knowledge and consent of the Government, since some of the ministers actually own coal mines and run a flourishing coal export business. Also the NPP had promised to lift the ban on coal mining if it is elected to power. That was what ensured its victory. Hence the present government is only fulfilling a poll promise even if it is doing so by the illegal route.
What’s the point of the Meghalaya Lokayukta then? Why have a debilitating institution that exists only in name?