Over 200 corruption complaints pending with CVOs, 105 for more than three years: CVC

A total of 219 corruption complaints were pending investigation with the chief vigilance officers (CVOs), 105 of those for over three years, of different government organisations as of December 31, 2020, probity watchdog CVC has said in its latest report.

It is expected of the CVOs, who act as a distant arm of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), that they would check corruption in a government department and conclude an investigation ideally within three months or as soon as possible thereafter, it said.

"At the end of the year 2020, in respect of such complaints that were referred by the commission to the CVOs for investigation, reports were awaited in 219 complaints out of which 58 were pending for up to one year, 56 were pending for a period between one to three years and 105 were pending for a period of over three years," said the CVC's annual report 2020.

The maximum number of 22 complaints were pending each with the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) and the Department of Secondary and Higher Education and Department of Elementary Education and Literacy, it said.

Of the complaints with the Delhi government, eight were pending for more than three years, nine for one to three years and five for up to a year, the report said.

Fourteen complaints were pending investigation and report for over three years at the Department of Secondary and Higher Education and Department of Elementary Education and Literacy, seven for one to three years and one for up to a year, it added.

The CVC’s annual report 2020 was tabled in Parliament during the recently concluded Monsoon Session and uploaded on its website on Tuesday.

According to the report, a total of 14 complaints sent to the CVO of the Department of Health by the CVC were pending investigation.

Of these, four were pending for more than three years, six for one to three years and four for up to a year, it said.

A total of eight complaints were pending investigation with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Of those, three were pending for more than three years, the report said.

There were six complaints pending investigation each by the Department of Revenue (two for more than three years), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi North (all for more than three years) and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (all six for over three years), according to the report.

Five complaints were pending investigation with the Ministry of Defence. One of those was pending for more than three years, it said.

Two complaints each were pending with the Directorate of Enforcement (all for up to a year), MCD East Delhi (one for more than three years) and MCD South Delhi (one for more than three years), the report said.

The CVC has mentioned a list of 94 government departments or organisations that had not concluded the investigation of the complaints sent to their CVOs by it.

The report said the CVC got 27,035 complaints in 2020, down from 32,579 in 2019.

Of these, 25,312 and 34,813 complaints were disposed of in 2020 and 2019 respectively.

"After scrutiny of complaints received, the commission calls for inquiry or investigation reports from the appropriate agencies only in those complaints which contain serious and verifiable allegations and there is a clear vigilance angle," the report said.

According to the laid down procedure, the inquiry or investigation reports are required to be sent to the commission within a period of three months. However, it is observed that in a majority of cases, there is a considerable delay in finalising and submission of reports to the commission, it said.

"Inordinate delays in submission of inquiry/investigation reports to the commission are a matter of serious concern," the report noted.