Wanted: A Lokayukta
Over the past month, the Karnataka Lokayukta has been in the news. Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has been able to place a check on the might of the state’s mining lobby – led by the notorious Reddy brothers of Bellary – something state Chief Minister B S Yedyurappa could not do. Last October, when CM Yedyurappa tried to clip the wings of the mining lobby, the Reddy brothers led a revolt against the chief minister. They got the backing of three-fourths of the ruling BJP’s MLAs, and also party heavyweight Sushma Swaraj.
Isolated, Mr Yedyurappa had to face complete humiliation, withdraw all measures he had introduced to curb illegal mining and earn revenue for the state from the miners, agree not to interfere with the Reddy brothers, and drop one of his own nominees from the cabinet. Ever since then, the Reddys have done pretty much what they liked.
But they didn’t reckon with Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde. A former Supreme Court judge, he launched an investigation into illegal mining when an honest forest officer from Karwar discovered that half a million tonnes of iron ore lying at Belekeri port that had no proper clearances, had been illegally exported. Also found was a sackfull of forged documents that had been used to transport the ore across the width of the state, from interior Bellary to the coast. But instead of taking action against illegal miners, the state’s Environment Minister recommended to the Chief Minister that the Forest Officer who had uncovered the scam be suspended, and the CM obliged!
Justice Hegde could not tolerate this; he resigned, and precipitated an unprecedented political crisis.
BJP boss L K Advani had to intervene, persuade Justice Hegde to withdraw his resignation and instruct Mr Yedyurappa that the Reddy brothers were no longer ‘untouchable’. Since then, the situation has been transformed. The CM has banned the movement of iron ore out of the state, until the Lokayukta’s probe is over.
The Lokayukta is an independent officer empowered to look into complaints of corruption by top government officials, including ministers and the chief minister. The institutions is set up on the lines of the institution of Ombudsman in Scandinavian countries, or the Parliamentary Commissioner in the UK. The Lokayukta investigates complaints of corruption and works for the redressal of citizens’ grievances. Unfortunately, the Lokayukta does not have the powers to punish anyone, but can make his/her findings public.
The Lokayukta does not just look into big scams. Justice Santosh Hegde himself gave the example of a tailor from a small town called Bagalkot, whose child did not have a fully developed intestine when born. He wanted to get his baby treated in the government hospital of Bagalkot, but the doctor asked for Rs80,000. Not being able to pay the amount or fight with the hospital, he brought the infant to the Lokayukta.
The Lokayukta approached other institutions. The Manipal Hospital in Bangalore did the child‘s operation for Rs8,000. And, on the Lokayukta’s recommendation, disciplinary action was taken against the government doctor who had asked for Rs80,000. The big scams may make the news, but the Lokayukta also provides relief for citizens and action against smaller wrong-doers as well.
The problem is, Goa does not have a Lok Ayukta. According to the Legislature’s Ad hoc Committee on Home, the government needs to speed up the process of introducing the Goa Lokayukta Bill in the assembly, so that “efficiency and transparency” can be ensured in the system. The Goa Lokayukta Bill, pending since 2003, has been kicked back and forth like a football between the central and state governments since then. Neither of the two, it seems, is particularly anxious that it should become law. With all the corruption we have been hearing about in the ongoing session, is that any surprise?
