PANAJI
In a letter to Chief Secretary R K Srivastava and Chief Vigilance Officer, Goa Civic and Consumers Action Network (GOACAN) has asked that the government draw up a comprehensive plan of action on the theme 'Preventive Vigilance as a tool of Good Governance'.
The organization called for a system of preventive vigilance to be established at the level of the municipal councils and village panchayats to build confidence among citizens.
“The Directorate must also hold 'open houses' for citizens in all municipal councils to garner support from the general public in reporting cases so that the government can be assisted in fighting corruption, and provide a clean and effective administration,” said GOACAN coordinator, Roland Martins.
He also called for orientation sessions to be held for the newly-elected municipal councillors on the role of the vigilance department in investigating assets disproportionate to sources of income and the need for transparency and accountability by municipal councils to help in reaching the goal of zero tolerance to corruption.
GOACAN also requested Vigilance Officers be appointed in all departments, public sector undertakings and corporations, and their names, telephone numbers and email IDs are well publicised through the Department of Information and Publicity.
Among the other proposals put forward in the letter are the appointment of the long-pending vigilance committees in all 189 village panchayats and that suitable training be given to the members by the resource persons from the Technical Cell and Anti Corruption Branch of the Directorate of Vigilance.
They also proposed that special awareness sessions on the need for vigilance to fight corruption be conducted in all higher secondary schools and colleges of Goa with the support of the Directorate of Education, Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Directorate of Higher Education and Goa University and with the collaboration of the NCC and NSS Units and Consumer Clubs on the campus.
