CVC wants an 'apex' body to fight corruption

The Central Vigilance Commission is considering setting up an ‘apex-level’ association of various investigating and enforcement agencies like CBI and ED to share intelligence in a better format and intensify the fight against corruption. Official sources said  the body being envisaged by the Commission will be under the administrative control of the CVC and coordinate with all other stakeholders. [caption id=“attachment_112647” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The body being envisaged by the Commission will be under the administrative control of the CVC. PTI”]  [/caption] “It can be a very useful initiative towards the fight against corruption. The association will provide a common forum for discussing matters of general interest, sharing of information and intelligence and ensuring cooperation and coordination among all anti-corruption agencies,” a senior CVC official said. “The Commission is in the process of seeking views in this regard from other stakeholders,” he said. The proposed body may have senior officials from Enforcement Directorate, CBI, Income Tax department and Delhi Police among others as its members. “There are delays in investigation due to the involvement of multi-jurisdiction and involvement of other government departments. In addition, there is lack of effective coordination among these agencies. The body, if formed, will act as a strong deterrent against illegal practices,” the official said. The CVC, after holding consultations with all stake holders,will send a proposal in this regard to the government soon, the official said. Insisting that there would be no overlapping of work with another proposed anti-corruption agency Lokpal, the official said “the association’s work would be different from Lokpal as the former would be focusing more on intelligence sharing and preventive vigilance rather than punitive under the aegis of Lokpal”. Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar had on 18  October  visited the CBI headquarters to meet and hold discussions with the director of the probe agency. Sources said that both of them are understood to have discussed various intra-departmental matters related to probe in Commonwealth Games, Lokpal and other major cases being inquired by them. PTI