Good to hear from you Ganesh. But I don't share your optimism, because without functioning institutions in place, a watchdog or watchdogs will eventually become lapdogs. Just look at CBI.
A government is only as good as the people who make it up. Until such time as able and people with integrity could not become a significant part of governance, it is doomed to be what Indian governance is. c-da On Apr 17, 2011, at 5:55 PM, Ganesh Bora wrote: > C' da, > > The Jan Lokpal may or may not work! But it scared the corrupt MMS government. > If Jan Lokpal does not work, some other Watch dog will be born! But atleast > for some time, government will think (or feel) that some one is watching > them! This is the beginning of the end of "Governing without Accountability"! > > Ganesh Bora > Fargo, ND > > > > From: Chan Mahanta <[email protected]> > To: A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the world > <[email protected]> > Sent: Sun, April 17, 2011 8:49:34 AM > Subject: [Assam] Will the Jan Lokpal Bill Work? > > > Prashant Bhushan is a credible person on these issues. But will the 'Jan > Lokpal ' thing work? What do you think? > > I don't think it will. It may have some value temporarily. Something a newly > independent state may employ to get > its bearing, like I proposed for an independent Assam. But until such time > India reforms and fixes its broken, > dysfunctional system, it will be about as effective as all the other, much > hyped schemes, programs, laws > acronyms and whatchmacallits -- like for example Panchayats, Fast Track > Courts, RTI, CVC and many others. > > Why ? > > For the simple reason that the dysfunctional system will continue to keep > producing the corrupt and the inept. > How will the JL, which is designed only to look after the CENTER - won't have > anything to do with the states, > keep the floodgates closed and for how long? That raises another assamnet > specific question to this 'odhom': > I was under the impression that it is Assam, and a few other states are the > truly corrupt entities, not the Center, > not the 'prospering' states and so forth. Where is the disconnect? > > The notion is akin to treating Typhoid with fever control medication. > > What is amazing is that no one NO ONE, is talking about fixing the broken > system. Why? Any thoughts? > > Also look up http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?271406. Some very > fgood points raised in this. > > cm > > > http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?271389 > > OPINION > Removing Misconceptions > Addressing some of the issues and concerns raised by a number of commentators > on the provisions in the draft of Jan Lokpal Bill > PRASHANT BHUSHAN > A number of commentators have raised issues about the provisions in the draft > of Jan Lokpal Bill, whether it will be effective instrument for checking > corruption and about the manner in which pressure was brought to bear on the > government through Shri Anna Hazare’s fast. It is therefore, important to > understand the provisions of the bill and how it seeks to set up an effective > institution to deal with corruption. > > Corruption in India has grown to alarming proportions; because of policies > which have created enormous incentives for its proliferation, coupled with > the lack of an effective institution which can investigate and prosecute the > corrupt. Under the garb of liberalization and privatisation, we have adopted > policies by which natural resources and public assets (such as mineral > resources, oil & gas, land, spectrum, etc) have been allowed to be privatised > without any transparency or public auction. Hundreds of MoUs have been signed > overnight, by governments with private corporations, leasing out large tracts > of land rich in mineral resources, forests and water, which allow those > corporations to take away and sell these resources by paying the government a > royalty which is usually less than 1% of the value of resources. The > Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, has pointed out in a report on > mining in Karnataka, that the profit margins in such ventures, is often more > than 90%; thus leaving a huge scope for bribe giving and creating huge > incentives for corruption. The same thing happened when Mr A. Raja gave away > spectrum without a public auction to companies at less than 10% of its market > price. Private monopolies in water/electricity distribution, airports, etc; > have been allowed to be created where huge and unconscionable profits can be > made by corrupting the regulator and allowing the private monopoly to charge > predatory prices. Tens of thousands of hectares of land have been given away > to corporations for commercialisation in the guise of airport development, > construction of highways, SEZs etc. at prices which are less than 10% of the > value of the those tracts of land. > > Apart from creating huge incentives for corruption, such policies have > resulted in involuntary displacement of lakhs of the poorest people, > rendering them on brink of starvation and forcing many of them to join the > Maoists. They have also stripped the country of its natural resources (a good > deal of which are exported), destroyed the environment and most ominously, > resulted in creating monster corporations, who are so powerful and > influential that they have come to influence and virtually control all > institutions of power as we see from the Radia tapes. In fact it is the > corporations which have become the fountainhead of corruption, with ministers > and public servants having become their agents. > > While adopting policies which create huge incentives for corruption, we have > not set up an effective institution to check corruption, investigate and > prosecute the corrupt and bring them to justice. The CBI continues to be > under the administrative control of the government, which is seen as > fountainhead of corruption. Thus no action is usually taken by the CBI to > effectively investigate high level corruption unless once in a while, the > court forces its hand. Often, we see the CBI behave in a corrupt manner with > no other institution, to investigate its own corruption. The Central > Vigilance Commission (CVC) which is supposed to supervise the CBI has failed > to act, since its own appointment process is riddled with conflict of > interest. The Prime Minister, Home Minister and Leader of Opposition (who has > been a minister and hopes to become Prime Minister one day) want to avoid > their own accountability and are thus interested in weak and pliable persons > to man an institution which is expected to supervise the CBI. Moreover the > CVC and CBI have to seek government sanctions for investigation and > prosecutions, which is usually not given in high level corruption. The CVC > depends on vigilance officers in various government departments who are often > middle level officers from same department and cannot be expected to exercise > vigilance over their bosses who write their confidential reports. The > judiciary, which must try and convict the offenders, has also become > dysfunctional and also corrupt due to lack of accountability of the higher > judiciary. > > The draft Jan Lokpal bill seeks to create an institution which will be > largely independent of those that it seeks to police, and which will have > effective powers of investigation and prosecuting all public servants > (including ministers, MPs, the bureaucracy, judges etc.) and those others > found guilty of corrupting them. Since corruption also involves misconduct > and gives rise to grievances, the draft bill also proposes that the Lokpal > will supervise the machinery for disciplinary proceedings against government > servants (the Vigilance Department) as well as the machinery for redressal of > grievances. Thus misconduct by government servants and grievances would also > come under an independent authority rather than under the government where it > has become ineffective due to conflicts of interest. In addition it has also > been proposed that if the Lokpal finds that a contract is being given for > corrupt considerations, it can order the stoppage of the contract. It cannot > otherwise interfere with government decisions or policy. > > It has been said that this will create a supercop with enormous powers and no > accountability. There is a misconception that the Lokpal would have judicial > powers as well. There is no such thing in the bill. The need of the hour is > to have an effective policing body which can investigate and prosecute the > high and mighty without interdiction from the very people who need to be > prosecuted. Moreover, the bill seeks to make the Lokpal accountable in many > ways. Firstly, it is mandated to function transparently so that everything > related to its functioning is known to the people (without compromising the > investigation itself). Other exemptions from disclosure provided in the RTI > Act could also be included. Secondly, the orders of the Lokpal would be > subject to Judicial review in the High Courts and the Supreme Court. Lastly, > the members of the Lokpal would be removable for misconduct by a 5 member > bench of the Supreme Court. > > There has also been criticism of the Selection Committee and selection > process of the Lokpal. Given the erosion in the integrity of most of our > state institutions, it was thought that the best bet was to have a > broad-based selection committee and build in transparency and some public > participation in the selection process, while trying to keep out those > persons who are most likely to be within the ambit of the investigations of > the Lokpal. That is why ministers were kept out in the draft bill, though one > criticism has been that this shows a contempt for democracy. We have seen how > the “democratically elected” PM, HM and leaders of opposition have normally > selected weak and pliable CVCs. So the draft bill proposes a selection > committee of Lok Sabha Speaker, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, CAG, CEC, the > two senior most judges of the Supreme Court, two senior most Chief Justices > of the High Court, the Chairman of the NHRC and the outgoing members of the > Lokpal. However, this selection committee would certainly be discussed and > perhaps improved during further public consultations and discussions within > the drafting committee, which will now take place. > > It has also been said that putting grievance redressal on the plate of the > Lokpal would make its work unmanageable. Though the Lokpal would only > reorganize and supervise the grievance redressal machinery (rather than > dealing with each grievance itself), this is also an issue, which would be > discussed openly by the Committee. By the next week a website for formally > taking in all the opinions and suggestions on the Jan Lokpal bill will be set > up and announced. We would welcome people to read, understand and send their > comments on it, which will be taken due note of. > > One must not however be under any illusion that the Lokpal law itself would > solve the problem of corruption. Unless we also tackle and change the > policies which are creating enormous incentives for corruption and creating > monster corporations, which become too powerful for any institution to > control, our fight against corruption will be incomplete. The judiciary too > is in need of comprehensive reforms. But, an independent, credible and > empowered Lokpal is certainly a necessary, though not a sufficient, condition > for effectively controlling corruption. Let us work to at least put that in > place. > > One of the original drafters of the Jan Lokpal Bill, Supreme Court lawyer > Prashant Bhushan is also one of the five nominees of Shri Anna Hazare on the > government notified Joint Drafting Committee to prepare a draft of the Lok > Pal Bill. > > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
