While lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for kick starting a mega clean-up drive “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” in India, on behalf of Indians the author suggests Mr. Modi to start “Swachh Shaasan Abhiyan” (Clean Governance Mission) for good governance and development.
Dear Shri Narendra Modi ji,
On behalf of citizens of India, I would like to compliment you for initiating a mega clean-up drive in India – the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Surely this must have earned you the gratitude of millions of Indians and sent out the message to one and all to clean-up their surroundings and keep it clean always.
May we suggest another mega clean-up drive which would give a big boost to your Government and go a long way in fulfilling your promise of good governance and development – the Swachh Shaasan Abhiyan (Clean Governance Mission).
The salient points of this Swachh Shaasan Abhiyan should be:
1. Anti-Corruption Bureaus of all States would go ahead with investigations and prosecutions of Govt. servants and politicians against whom complaints have been received of disproportionate assets or who are caught taking bribes. No Govt. permission would be needed to initiate the above.
2. Corruption cases pending in Courts would get a speedy trial and the best of Lawyers would be recruited to prosecute the high and the mighty – whichever Party, they may belong to or whichever Corporate or senior officer may it be.
3. Right to information would be implemented in letter and spirit in all Depts. For this every Dept. strictly adheres to Sec. 4 of RTI Act (suo moto disclosure of Dept’s info.), public notices are given out inviting applications of posts of Information Commissioners (as per Sec. 12 (5) of the RTI Act.), for the time being no more senior bureaucrats or retired bureaucrats would be inducted as Info Commissioners as more than 90 % of the existing Commissioners are ex-bureaucrats which is causing a conflict of interest.
4. Take immediate steps to publicize the names of all the major and minor foreign-bank account holders and initiate steps to bring back the black money. Take all steps necessary to investigate and prosecute the citizens who had stashed black money abroad. After all, it is the corruption money otherwise why should they be stashed abroad if it was their hard-earned money.
5. Take citizens suggestions on the “Right to Services” Act, fine tune and implement it to make it loop-hole free so that citizens get timely services from their public servants.
6. The glaring loopholes existing in the Whistleblower’s Protection Act too need to be plugged and made more whistleblower friendly. At present, ironically, it is tilted in favor of the corrupt elements rather than the whistleblower.
7. Take all steps needed to ensure that Court cases do not drag on and on for years together. After all, justice delayed is justice denied.
8. Ensure that investigations and prosecution of cases involving corruption, crimes against women and children and terrorism are fast-tracked.
9. Ensure that Service Conduct Rules, which are applicable to all public servants, are implemented in letter and spirit.
10. As per 74th Constitutional Amendment, all Govt. Departments hold periodic public meetings to seek their opinion on their functioning, redress their grievances, accept their complaints and promptly act upon them.
11. Frame appropriate accountability laws for our public representatives – the Corporators, the MLAs, MLCs and MPs of both houses of the Parliament. At this point of time there is no way the citizens can hold them accountable for not spending the area development funds as per citizens’ wishes, for taking wrong decisions in their respective legislative bodies or taking decisions which are not in public interest.
12. Ensure that every public representative hold regular periodic meetings to seek public opinion on expenditure of public funds, policies / laws to be framed etc.
13. Ensure that abuse of power, mal-administration, incompetency and corruption in Government Departments is dealt with an iron hand.
The appropriate time to initiate this “Swachh Shaasan Abhiyan” is close at hand – the death anniversary of the bold and upright IIT engineer – Shri Satyendra Dubey, who was shot dead by the road-construction mafia, for exposing corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral Road Project, at Gaya in Bihar – 27th Nov. 2003.
Narendra ji, now is the time to prove to us Indians and the world how different your Govt. is from the predecessors. Kindly do not lose the tempo and the golden opportunity to make our Country the “Sonay kee Chideeya” it once was.
Dhanyavaad.
G R Vora
On behalf of all Indians
