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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Amend law to shield honest babus, hasten decision-making, directs PM -Dipak Kumar Dash & Sidhartha

Amend law to shield honest babus, hasten decision-making, directs PM -Dipak Kumar Dash & Sidhartha

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published Published on Apr 9, 2015   modified Modified on Apr 9, 2015
-The Times of india

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the personnel department to expedite amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act after the country's top bureaucrats cited it as a major factor weighing on them while taking decisions in "public interest".

Officials said the issue was raised with the PM when he met secretaries last Wednesday, saying the fear of being prosecuted for wrong reasons was hindering swift decision-making and initiatives. According to a senior officer, the PM and finance minister Arun Jaitley indicated to those present at the interaction that work on changing the law had already started.

This is the third time since the NDA government took over that the matter has been flagged by the senior-most government officers in the country.

During the interaction, Modi recollected that the matter had been discussed earlier too and immediately sought details of why the proposal was held up. Jaitley also underlined the need for amendments.

Sources said the proposal was pending with the personnel department. "The ball is now in the personnel department's court as the PM wants a decision on it soon," said a source.

Bureaucrats have campaigned for amendment in the Prevention of Corruption Act on the ground that the law leaves them vulnerable to the risk of being prosecuted for even such decisions which could be fully above board. They say that while it is only natural that any decision or a contract awarded will benefit someone, and adversely impact others, the Prevention of Corruption Act puts the onus on the bureaucrat to prove s/he acted in public interest. The final decision is taken by the investigating officer or the courts and, in both cases, after a long drawn-out process.

Senior officers told TOI that the issue impacts not just bureaucrats but even ministers and businessmen who gain from a decision taken by the government.

"This is the most draconian provision in any such law anywhere in the world. This is something that was inserted in 1988 and even those who had written the law have later regretted incorporating the provisions. It has affected decision-making at all levels as people fear that they may be hauled up later," said a secretary in an economic ministry.

After some retired bureaucrats were charged with corruption, senior officers have shied away from taking controversial decisions resulting in policy paralysis, especially during the UPA regime. Although decisions have been taken in recent months, bureaucrats have tended to be cautious.

On Monday, Jaitley had told an industry gathering that the government was considering amendments to the anti-corruption law. "The Law Commission has sent its recommendations that in the changed environment, it (Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988) requires a relook. Therefore, a large number of criminal cases, both against industry and decision-makers, which have recently in the last few years disrupted the economic and business environment of this country require to be seriously addressed by looking at the language of the Act," Jaitley had said.


The Times of India, 9 April, 2015, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Amend-law-to-shield-honest-babus-hasten-decision-making-directs-PM/articleshow/46857283.cms


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