The New Indian Express 27.10.2010
BMC working overtime on single-window system
BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation is going to celebrate Diwali in its real sense. The Corporation is working overtime to operationalise the much awaited user friendly ‘single-window’ system in its daily operations to shield the denizens from corrupt officials and cumbersome procedures.As the State is observing the Vigilance Awareness week, Municipal Commissioner Vishal K Dev, speaking exclusively to TNIE, detailed the organisation’s blue-print to stamp out corruption from the civic services. Transparency International, in its Corruption Watch Report on Orissa, has rated the civic bodies as the next most corrupt department after Police.
“Scope for corruption exists when people have an interface with the civic officials to pay their holding taxes or licence fees or any other dues. They go to the concerned sections for certain approvals or issuance of licences or even payment of dues or taxes. Given that they deal directly with a person, there is every possibility of some trying to grease their palms. So, the best way to eliminate this menace is putting up a single-window online application system. This not only eliminates corruption but also provides user-friendly services,” explained Vishal Dev.
The current cash based accounting system is not transparent, said Vishal Dev. “Many cities have already shifted to accrual based accounting system to ensure highest transparency in operations and more accountability to the organisation and soon we too will switch over to this new accounting system. In short, we are going to place all checks and balances internally to build a graft-proof infrastructure in the Organisation,” said Dev.
However, the civic body’s swift evolution to an accountable organisation is impeded by severe manpower crunch. “We are operating with around 30 per cent of the required sanitary staff. Also, the shortfall at executive engineer level is 50 per cent. Such a shortfall is proving a drag on the vigilance operations too,” explained Dev.
As per the Central Vigilance Act, 2005, every organisation has to appoint a full-time Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) who would work out strategies to ensure punitive vigilance, surveillance and detection. But here, the Chief Finance Officer has been entrusted with the work of the CVO. Moreover, Urban Development Ministry circular has asked the CVO to notify only the pendency rate to the Vigilance Director. This shows the mandate of CVC Act is not being implemented properly here.
“There is no pendency as of now. The CVO office has received only three complaints between May and October and all of them have been disposed of,” said Labanya Sabar, CFO-cum-CVO.
He, however, admitted that there is no vigilance cell as mandated by the CVC Act, 2005.
