By Angela Rangad & Tarun Bhartiya
There was a time in these hills when amassing unaccounted wealth attracted the disapproval of the majority. More so when such illegal gains was at the expense of sucking the life out of the marginalised and the poor. This worldview which is informed by Ka tip briew tip Blei and Kamai ia ka Hok was firmly grounded on principles of an economy of sufficiency as opposed to greed.
Today, this very same state can boast of being one of the most corrupt in the country. The coming of the Right to Information Act in 2005 provided hope to a seemingly irretrievable situation of blatant looting and abuse of power. Thanks to the RTI, citizens could finally find instances, processes and people involved in corruption. In Meghalaya, a vibrant RTI movement has meant that instances of corruption whether those involving Ministers, MLAs or Government officers have been uncovered by people from remote rural corners to the supposedly enlightened urban sprawl. This public exposure of corruption with naming and shaming of the corrupt was supposed to usher in a more accountable and transparent polity. But corruption here has become so systemic and normalised that shaming and naming has done little to stop these exploiters and looters. Stealing food, shelter, livelihoods of the poor continues and the thugs are still at large. Jobs are up for sale, our environment is being sold for a song, education takes a beating, lies pass for promises and the abuse of power that fuels corruption continues unchecked.
Existing laws like the Indian Penal Code 1860 and the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 have proved ineffective. Agencies such as the State Vigilance Commission headed by Bureaucrats, resist challenging anomalies concerning colleagues and perhaps their own past histories. Further, these existing laws require Government permission before initiating investigations and prosecution of the corrupt. Seldom does this permission arrive because of the mafia like ‘omerta’ amongst the powerful. Late Mr. F. A. Khonglam never saw the insides of a prison, even though the Government’s own reports indicted his corrupt acts. The IAS officers, technocrats, suppliers who cheated the poor under the pretext of supplying CGI sheets, rather than running scared of the law get promoted. And least said about the white ink moment of this government, so much the better.
People have Named the corrupt, they have tried to Shame the corrupt, now comes the time to look for ways to Tame the corrupt. The Meghalaya Right To information Movement (MRTIM) has been insisting for some years that an independent institution like Lokayukta, which ensures that corruption gets investigated and prosecuted in a time bound manner can Tame the corrupt. Today along with 19 other organisations MRTIM is demanding for enactment of an independent Lokayukta in the state.
Lokayukta – or People’s Commissioner is like Lokpal (People’s guard) at the state level. It is imagined as a one stop institution for a quick investigation and prosecution of corruption and abuse of power. At last count 18 states in India have enacted their own Lokayukta laws. But mostly these laws are weak, rendering the institution of Lokayukta ineffective. But there are also states like Karnataka, where Lokayukta is strong and independent. The Karnataka Lokayukta has the powers to investigate even the Chief Minister.
It may surprise many that even Meghalaya has a Lokayukta Law. Meghalaya enacted a Meghalaya Lokayukta & Up-lokayukta Act in 2000, notified it in 2002 and made rules for it in 2007. But this weak law, designed to protect the big fish, has in its secret life of 10 years never been implemented. Before the Government starts claiming that we already have a Lokayukta law, let us throw some light onto the darkness this law has spent its life in. Unsurprisingly, this piece of defunctness has the following Major Problems:
1. Govt. can exempt any public servant from purview of the Lokayukta.
2. Lokayukta has no suo-moto powers to initiate investigation which states like Karnataka provide for.
3. Chief Minister is not under the purview of this Act whereas in states like Karnataka the Chief Minister is covered.
4. Lokayukta does not have retrospective effect and can only look into complaints that pertain to actions done in the last 12 months.
5. Complaint process is legalistic and complicated.
6. Lokayukta does not even have powers to summon Cabinet Proceedings.
7. It can only recommend to the government the action to be taken.
8. It cannot freeze and seize ill-gotten gain.
9. It does not have an investigative wing and has to depend on the government bodies
10. Only Bureaucrats and Judges can be Lokayukta & Up-Lokayukta
It is better that the Meghalaya Government never managed to implement its weak law. It would have only saved the corrupt and become an institution where retired bureaucrats could enjoy their red light retirement.
We deserve better than the sorry piece of legislation made by the meritorious bureaucrats and legislators to save their privileges. MRTIM initiated a process of drafting a people’s version of a new Meghalaya Lokayukta Bill 2012 which incorporates best experiences and provisions from the various state acts and the Lok Pal Bill. New developments and realities surrounding transparency and accountability such as the existence of the RTI Act etc have informed this people’s draft bill.
Highlights of the people’s draft Bill are:
1. 3 member Lokayukta with Chairperson and 2 other members
2. Lokayukta shall be able to investigate and initiate prosecution on any public servant including the Chief Minister, Ministers, MLAs etc.
3. “Act of corruption” will mean –
– anything made punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
– willfully giving any undue benefit by a public servant to any person or obtaining any undue benefit by a public servant from any person
– victimization of a whistle-blower or a witness;
4. Lokayukta shall inquire either suo moto or on a complaint substantiated by RTI
5. At least one member of Lokayukta shall have a legal background and Members shall be persons of impeccable integrity having experience of not less than fifteen years in public service or investigation or vigilance or anti-corruption or governance or management or finance or journalism or mass media.
6. The Selection Committee shall consist of The Chief Minister, The Leader of the Opposition, One judge of the Guwahati High Court selected by collegium of all judges of Guwahati High Court, One person from previous Chairpersons of Lokayukta, one member shall be selected by the other members of the Selection Committee from amongst the retired Chief Justices of India, the retired judges of Supreme Court, the retired Chief Justices of High Courts, the retired judges of High Courts, the retired Chief Election Commissioners of India, the retired State Information Commissioners, and the retired Comptroller and Auditor Generals of India
7. The Selection Committee shall select the Chairperson and other members of the Lokayukta from out of a short list prepared by the Search Committee.
8. After completion of investigation in any case involving an act of corruption, Lokayukta shall recommend punishment of dismissal, removal or reduction in rank against government servants after giving them full opportunities of being heard. The recommendations shall be binding to the appointing/disciplinary authority of the Government.
9. Lokayukta shall initiate prosecution before a Special Court established under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988;
10. Lokayukta can attach property and assets acquired by corrupt means and to confiscate them
11. Lokayukta can recommend cancellation or modification of a lease, license, permission, contract or agreement, if it was obtained by corrupt means and to recommend blacklisting of a firm, company, contractor or any other person, involved in an act of corruption.
12. Lokayukta shall have an independent Investigation & Prosecution Wing
We know that anti-corruption legislations are never a gift from the powerful. They need to be demanded and fought for. Development in Meghalaya will not come from the rulers who only busy themselves in conning the central government to release bigger packages that then get announced as some grand sounding schemes, but from laws which ensure that development does not only flow into the SUVs of the powerful.
