Tamil Nadu government amends anti-corruption law, opposition cries foul

CHENNAI: In a move that could dilute the TN Local Bodies Ombudsman Act, 2014, the government amended the act so that retired officials could be appointed to the watchdog position. While the original act stipulated that the ombudsman who will serve for three years will be an official of principal secretary rank, the amendment passed by the assembly on Monday opens up the appointment to retired officials of secretary rank.
The act, mandated by the 13th finance commission, seeks to curb corruption and maladministration in local bodies. The government defended the amendment saying it would give a wider pool of eligible officers to choose from. But opposition parties such as CPM and DMK opposed the move in the assembly, saying the ombudsman should be appointed without any bias or influence.
Ombudsman should have powers of a civil court, says CPM
In a move that could dilute the TN Local Bodies Ombudsman Act, 2014, the government amended the act so that retired officials could be appointed to the corruption watchdog position. While the original act stipulated that the ombudsman who will serve for three years will be an official of principal secretary rank, the amendment passed by the assembly on Monday opens up the appointment to retired officials of secretary rank.
The act, mandated by the 13th finance commission, seeks to curb corruption and maladministration in local bodies. The government defended the amendment saying it would give a wider pool of eligible officers to choose from. But opposition parties such as CPM and DMK opposed the move in the assembly, saying the ombudsman should be appointed without any bias or influence. The ombudsman should have the powers of a civil court trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure. The government should not appoint retired people,” CPM whip K Balakrishnan told TOI.
“We suspect this amendment is to prevent the ombudsman from acting on corruption involving local body leaders since a majority of them belong to AIADMK,” said Duraimurugan, DMK’s deputy floor leader. “A more junior officer would likely be unwilling to take on the government,” said Jayaram Venkatesan, member of the state campaign committee of Aam Aadmi party.
The ombudsman will look into any complaints punishable under the provisions of Chapter IX of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. He or she can summon the official or elected representative who is being probed, call for producing relevant documents, receive affidavits, requisition public records from any court or office and impose fines and order recovery of loss from the culprits' salaries. The ombudsman can seek police assistance to carry out his duty.
In 2013, then Cuddalore collector R Kirlosh Kumar dismissed presidents of four village panchayats for misuse of funds. But the state rural development department shunted out S Kathiresan, assistant director of panchayats, who brought the fraud to the collectors notice.
An ombudsman would be able to adjudicate on such cases.
Anti-corruption activists point out that though both in Kerala and Tamil Nadu the ombudsman is to be selected by the governor based on the recommendation of the chief minister, Kerala at least mandates a retired judge of the high court.