Vigilance week: Acharya and Rio bats for transparency in governance

Dimapur, Oct. 28 (EMN): Governor PB Acharya —on the occasion of Vigilance Week, which starts from Tuesday— has asked the state’s vigilance commission to work for transparency and accountability.

“Corruption is the loss of purity or integrity – A decay in anything that causes a deviation from the ideal. In governance, corruption comes under many different guises like bribery, extortion, blackmail, fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation of public goods, nepotism and cronyism. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our society. It has become a way of life. Society itself has accepted and embraced corruption. No one questions the many that live beyond their means of income.

“Corruption has adversely affected the economy and has stunted the country’s development. Corruption is depriving us of our constitutional and human rights. It is threatening the economic development, ethical values and justice; it is destabilising our society- creating a social divide of ‘haves and have nots. It is a challenge to the institutions and values of our democracy. Public policies and public resources are largely beneficial to poor people and it is they who suffer the harmful effects of corruption most grievously,” a Raj Bhavan statement read on Sunday.

According to the governor, ‘it is time for us to come together and reaffirm our commitment to promote vigilance concepts and to rededicate ourselves to the cause of fighting corruption.’ “Corruption cannot significantly come down unless all stakeholders support and participate to eradicate corruption. Increased transparency, fairness, equity, competitiveness and leveraging of technology in all areas of functioning of the government should be promoted.

“People should be made aware of their rights and responsibilities- to ensure that the sanctity of the ‘rule of law’ as mandated by our constitution for justice, liberty and equality of all its citizens is preserved. The state vigilance commission, Nagaland, as the apex anti- corruption institution of the state should endeavour to promote transparency and accountability and maintain integrity in public life. The investigation into corruption cases must be brought to its rational conclusion whereby public resources are recovered from the corrupt officials as well as act as deterrence to others,” it stated.

According to Acharya, it is imperative to understand why corruption exist, ‘the factors that influence it and how we can tackle corruption effectively. Let us join together and work untiringly for eradication of corruption in all spheres of life and build a New India of our dreams.’

In a separate statement, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio said that corruption is a manifestation of greed of an individual for power, position and wealth. “While enabling provisions, community actions, and adequate legislations can all play an important role in eradicating corruption, the real big change would happen only when individuals are able to manage their greed. In spite of the fact that punishment and penal actions delivered quickly, a lot more will be achieved by inspiring the young generation to lead a successful life based on a combination of righteousness and honesty.

“My government is committed to making all out efforts to implement transparency and good governance initiatives in the fight against corruption and taking steps to eradicate corruption and measures to solve the issues faced by the people. In this regard, the PDA government shall endeavour to bring out a comprehensive zero tolerance policy towards corruption,” read a statement from Rio.

According to the chief minister, the government alone cannot create a corruption-free state. “Change will be powered by every citizen. Nevertheless, anti-corruption efforts cannot be successful without the active participation of all the stakeholders, especially the public at large. It is therefore imperative that the public should be made aware of the need for their involvement in such efforts.

“I call upon all citizens to join and actively participate in the movement to eradicate corruption and build a New India. I wish the activities being organized in connection with the Vigilance Awareness Week 2018 all success,” he stated.