DoPT to emulate international standards to protect public servants from malicious allegations of graft

Time to Get Tough on Flip Graft Complaints, Says Prime Minister’s Office: Sources

Stricter rules must be introduced to punish those who file false or frivolous complaints of corruption against government officers, the Prime Minister’s Office has said.

Sources said that the Prime Minister’s Office is concerned that flippant complaints could discourage or delay officials from taking decisions.  It has  reportedly asked for guidelines that define how lawyers should be assigned in these cases to defend bureaucrats and others.  

Complaints against government officers are received by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the  Central Vigilance Commission. Sources told NDTV that “a lot of manpower and time” is being spent on unsubstantiated complaints which are also causing “a lot of heartburn and harassment”.

The Prime Minister’s Office has asked the DoPT to emulate international standards to protect public servants from malicious allegations of graft.  It has also suggested that for officers being falsely targeted, the government should become a party to their cases.   

After winning the election last year, the Prime Minister vowed to remove India’s infamous red tape and sought to energise the bureaucracy; he asked them to think creatively and work hard to overcome the administrative paralysis that had set in over the past decade as the Congress-led government became engulfed in a series of corruption scandals. He has also emphasized  accountability and launched an electronic surveillance system that monitors whether government officials report to work on time.