oppn parties Odisha: Naveen Patnaik's War Against Corruption

Story Of The Day

Assessee Not Responsible For Ensuring TDS Is Paid To The Government: Delhi HC
OPINIONS : Strongly Expressed

December 21, 2024

People Are Talking About

Rohit Warns Sarfaraz, Police Use It To Warn Two-Wheeler Riders

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
Odisha: Naveen Patnaik's War Against Corruption

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-12-25 03:42:44

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

There is no doubt that corruption is now the major stumbling block in our efforts to develop the nation. Almost all politicians acknowledge this but never take concrete steps to rectify the situation. Lower and middle level corruption is the termite that is washing away the gains of development. The politician-bureaucrat-businessman nexus needs to be well and truly smashed.

For the first time, a politician has taken concrete steps - at least on paper - to ensure that each and every person associated with delivering the benefits of the government schemes to the citizens, is made accountable. While the scheme sounds good on paper, the real test will be in implementing it.

Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, added a new weapon to his ongoing war against corruption today by declaring that annual property statements of all public servants right from the sarpanch to MLAs, MPs & CM as well as government employees at all levels up to the chief secretary will be made public and submitted to the Lokayukta.

It might be recalled that Odisha already has a Special court to try corruption cases. This court is empowered to confiscate the assets of those found misappropriating public funds. The state government has already fired 91 corrupt officials in the last one year.

Patnaik was spot on when he told the BJD's state council that the fight against poverty, disease, injustice, natural calamities or regional disparities "will be worthless if we do not ensure transparency and eradicate corruption - the enemy of development".

But such schemes, though announced with a lot of fanfare, usually get buried later. The chief minister would do well to take the scheme online and prescribe timelines for uploading of information by concerned officials. In short, Naveen Patnaik will have to ensure that his good intentions are not killed by rogue bureaucrats backed by corrupt politicians.

 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Turmoil In Mollywood

Turmoil In Mollywood

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

In Depth

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Editor's Pick

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.