the appointment and installation of Goa’s Lokayukta is surely not a reason to rejoice but a time to take stock of how Goans have been misled and fooled by a party and government which was never serious in letting an ombudsman institution keep watch on rampant corruption which has either been overlooked or indulged in by those who control power in Goa today.
The appointment of a Lokayukta when there are about nine months (give or take a couple) left for the term of the BJP government to end, is sheer tokenism, which shouldn’t fool Goans. In a period of four years, that the BJP, which made the appointment of the Lokayukta as a fundamental election promise, has ruled, Goa has had a Lokayukta for precisely seven months. The previous and only Lokayukta, B Sudarshan Reddy took charge on March 16, 2013 and resigned abruptly on October 17, 2013. His appointment took place exactly a year after the BJP government came to power in March 2012, despite the then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar promising to have the new Lokayukta in, within 100 days of taking office.
Now the new Lokayukta Justice Prafulla Kumar Misra, who has joined two and half years after the previous Lokayukta resigned, will need about a month and a half to settle down, augment staff, streamline his office administration and then review cases. Therefore even the hearings for the 22 pending cases before the Lokayukta, will take time to commence, not to speak of completing the Ribandar office to make it fully functional for the Lokyukta’s needs.
Of course Justice P K Misra has the opportunity to buck the trend and set new standards in pro-activism by not just disposing of the 22 cases, but taking suo-moto cognisance of several issues of official corruption which have been raised by the opposition, activists and sections of the media mainly, Herald. He must embrace the fact that corruption cannot be viewed through the narrow prism of a bribe giver and a bribe taker, but include decision makers and powerful heads who control the strings and the purse strings of the government. For example, if there is corruption in the Transport department, junior officers and clerks can’t be the only ones who are arrested and tried while bosses get promotions and postings.
Secondly, the Lokayukta should give a sense of confidence to those who are convinced that the Vigilance Department and the Anti-Corruption Bureau have become subservient arms of the government and surrendered their neutrality to the Chief Minister. If the Chief Minister’s kin has been caught taking a bribe, the Lokayukta must have the strength to undertake an independent probe and not brook interference. It is then that the faith people still in the judiciary will be reposed in the Goa Lokayukta.
Most importantly, it must actually allot a fair amount of time and resources to the manner in which the Government is clearing projects by subverting Goa’s environment and bringing in extremely powerful business lobbies to start projects by drawing from fragile natural resources. There are obvious indications that monetary gratifications underline such deals. The Lokayukta must open itself to complainants who have spent time, energy and personal resources to unearth these wrong doings.
Sometimes institutions and its rules determine and bind those who head them. Sometimes stellar individuals ensure that institutional rules get sharper teeth by the manner in which they use their positions to deliver justice. Justice PK Misra, will hopefully be the latter. His appointment is actually a stale gift to Goa, but his functioning along the lines suggested and underlined could over ride the scepticism and result in hope.
