Thiruvananthapuram: The government officials misleading the public regarding government services and delaying action on files would also be considered corruption, besides taking bribes in cash or gifts and in kind, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
"Certain officials are misleading the common people who reach their offices enquiring about their files. Those actions also account as corruption. Minor blights do exist in some places. Such places should also be cleared of corruption," the CM stated.
He was speaking after inaugurating the Vigilance Awareness Week and other Vigilance Department projects including a solar power plant. The inauguration was carried out by cutting the chain of corruption symbolically.
The reforms, including punching at Government offices, have been introduced to increase the efficiency of civil services. Certain officials are reluctant towards such changes in the system. They would also mislead people and delay the services deliberately.
When there is a Vigilance inspection or search conducted somewhere, there is no need to misunderstand that the whole office is corrupt.
The Vigilance should find if there are any lapses in each phase of a project, rather than finding and probing a lapse when the project is in the final phase. If the lapse is found and investigated at a later stage, the project completion gets delayed, expenses will be higher and the public will have to suffer.
To avoid that Vigilance examination must be done in each phase.
The Vigilance should focus on spreading awareness regarding the services based on the technology and the laws against corruption, the CM said.
Chief Secretary V P Joy, Home Additional Chief Secretary V Venu and Vigilance Director Manoj Abraham spoke during the programme.
