Just 14 graft cases booked in TN since March: DVAC data

Just 14 graft cases booked in TN since March: DVAC data

Govt Offices Shut, Staff Focused On Covid Work

Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 02.08.2020

The still raging Covid-19 pandemic seems to have slowed down corruption across Tamil Nadu including Chennai, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption data suggests.

Since March 24, when the lockdown began, the DVAC registered only 14 cases across the state and uploaded details of the FIRs registered on its website. The DVAC usually registers 20-25 cases every month.

The DVAC, whose investigative units are divided into central, western and southern ranges and the special cell, now has 50% of its staff working on a rotation basis as per government rules, sources said.

The units posted in Chennai, under the central range, have not registered a single case since March 16, according to the website. In the western range, which comprises 14 units, the Erode unit registered a case on June 5, Vellore on June 26 and July 11, Tirupur on July 13, Coimbatore on March 26, while the unit in Perambalur conducted 2 traps in June.

The southern range includes 15 units and the Trichy unit registered FIRs on June 1 and 19, Dindigul on May 19 and June 8, Tirunelveli on July 15, Kanyakumari on July 9 and Karur on July 9.

One reason, say DVAC sources, is that government offices across Chennai and Tamil Nadu were completely shut in April and May. There was no movement of people and the circumstances for corruption at government offices may not have arisen, they say.

Secondly, the near complete focus on battling Covid may have affected movement of files. The 2017 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act has mandated the DVAC to take permission of the vigilance commissioner before filing an FIR against any government employee. In Tamil Nadu, the vigilance commissioner is the chief secretary who is involved in Covid-19 prevention. “So, even if DVAC may have processed files, they may be stuck with the secretariat,” sources said. However, traps have been laid and people arrested based of the complaints received. “But for arrest, we have to maintain a proper safety protocol, to avoid spread of COVID19,” an official said. Paperwork on older cases is being systematically processed, sources added.

Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of Arappor Iyakkam, an NGO working towards eradicating corruption, said it the reduction in the number of cases was inevitable due to the lockdown. “However, registration department’s offices have started functioning. DVAC should give information on how many surprise checks were conducted.” In February, Jayaram recalled, a complainant had approached the DVAC officials concerned, seeking to trap an official demanding a bribe for issuing a legal heir certificate. No action was take, Jayaram said. “DVAC has not converted many pending complaints, where it could have collected evidence and converted it into FIRs during the lockdown period,” he said.

Drop in cases inevitable during lockdown, says Arappor Iyakkam, an NGO. Wants info on checks conducted at registration department offices across TN during this period