Govt to revamp Vigilance Department

Thiruvananthapuram: The State government has decided to revamp the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department with an aim of making the state civil service corruption-free and ensure speedy disposal of pending cases.

Vigilance officials would be given "a free-hand" in the investigation and all kinds of political intervention in the department would be checked, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told a press meet here.

"To bring transparency in the inquiry and avoid inordinate delay in the disposal of cases, we have asked the vigilance director to fix average time duration for the disposal of each case. It will help gain the confidence of people and make civil service corruption free," he said.

Earlier in the day, he attended a meeting of vigilance officials and discussed various aspects of revamping the force.

Officers with clean personal and professional records and credibility would only be appointed to the department, he said.

The government also decided to give 20 per cent monthly incentive for vigilance officials and provide them more vehicles as part of infrastructure development, he said.

Steps had been taken to set up two new vigilance courts in Ernakulam and Kannur Districts. A website providing a comprehensive data on the vigilance cases registered in the state was also under the plan, he said.

On questions about the recent death of a nursing student who allegedly jumped from the building of a private hospital here, Chennithala said city police commissioner was asked to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.