Giving a pep talk to Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) – who act as a distant arm of the Central Vigilance Commission to check corruption in various government organisations, he also emphasised on quick decision-making by bureaucrats and on the need to check harassment of any bonafide decisions made by them.
Sinha said the officers and personnel, who man vigilance organisations and investigative agencies, need to be very carefully selected.
“We often hear of complaints even in these organisations, unless you go meet them (officers) or unless you go and meet them several times, things do not happen. That is something that should never happen,” he said.
“Nobody should ever be able to require to come here (CVC) and explain. And so the selection of officers have to be swachh (clean),” said the country’s top bureaucrat, who heads various selection and search panel for high-level appointments.
His views assume significance as the role of two former CBI Directors AP Singh and Ranjit Sinha had come under criticism for alleged impropriety.
Giving a lecture on “vigilance as a tool for good governance”, the Cabinet Secretary said those in the selection process should select people with varied experience because that would help them in evaluating various kind of complaints in different sectors.
Asserting that India is fastest growing economy after China, Sinha said in such a phase “the public servants are called upon to take quick decisions, which can some time be questioned”.
“It is in this context that it very important that legitimate and bonafide decisions are protected.
Otherwise, we keep hearing the word policy paralysis. We were suffering from that some time ago, but if the country has to leap frog, the country has to develop at this rate decisions have to be taken,” the officer said.
He said an environment needed to be created, where the legitimate and bonafide decisions were protected.
“For that it is important that in vigilance organisation such as this (CVC) and its various organisations spread across the country, there is a need for capacity building and training,” Sinha said.