Transparency International revamps State chapter

To effectively tackle corruption issues faced by the public, Transparency International India (TII) Karnataka chapter has been reconstituted and its members held the first meeting on Monday.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, former Additional Chief Secretary to State government and the new Chairman to TII-Karnataka, V Balasubramanian said: "The State Executive Committee of TII-Karnataka has been in existence for more than a decade. However it was not active. Hence, in September this year, elections were held following which new office bearers were appointed. Our objective is to reach out to people who are facing corruption related issues.”

Balasubramanian said that the State has hit national headlines for mining, land grabbing and garbage scams among others. "The State was good earlier but in the past ten years, the situation has changed," he added.

The Transparency International (TI), a not-for-profit organisation has offices in over 100 countries including India. Some of TI’s programmes include anti-corruption helpdesk, addressing corruption risks in member-countries, anti-corruption research network, helping citizens engage with the government among others.

The members maintained that they will implement TI programmes by networking with like-minded voluntary organisations engaged in anti-corruption services in public, corporate and social sectors within Karnataka. Meanwhile, citizens with complaints or information regarding corruption can contact Mathews Philip on 9845001338 and Sridhar Pabbisetty on 9591985289.

The new office-bearers of TII-Karnatakata are: V Balasubramanian (Chairman); S R Hiremath (Vice-Chairman); Mathews Philip (Secretary); Suchitra Rao (Treasurer) and Y G Muralidharan, Sridhar Pabbisetty and Lukose Vallatharai as members.