Eminent Citizens For Effective Lokpal To Deal With Graft

Bangalore: Concerned over corruption and governance deficit, top industrialists and eminent citizens in their second Open Letter asked political leaders to enact a "well-crafted" Lokpal Bill to deal with the menace. The eminent citizens, including Deepak Parekh (Chairman, HDFC), Azim Premji (Chairman, Wipro), Jamshyd Godrej (Chairman Godrej and Boyce) and Bimal Jalan (former RBI Governor), also warned that corruption and policy uncertainty is driving away investment to other countries. This is the second letter by them since January this year highlighting the issues concerning governance deficit and corruption. "We support the need for the urgent passage of a well-crafted Lokpal Bill by Parliament. While Parliament debates the contours of the Lokpal Bill, the discussion of the details now resides with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice," said Open Letter -II to the leaders. The common man is a silent sufferer because available constitutional remedies remain inaccessible, it said, adding, "We believe that the Lokpal Bill is only one small but critical step in the national task of weeding out the plague of corruption in India." This draft Lokpal Bill is intended to address episodic corruption, but is unlikely to have any significant impact on the day-to-day corruption which is insidious and demeaning, it added. Even the best crafted legislation will not cleanse the system unless effective redressal mechanisms are put in place, it said. This, however, is not possible given the acute backlog of cases pending in the courts, estimated at over 3.1 crore. India has 10 judges per million population compared to 50 in the UK and 107 in the US, it said. The letter also said it is acknowledged that a strong nexus exists between certain corporates, politicians, bureaucrats and power brokers. This is one of the greatest threats for the Indian economy. "Policy uncertainties and delays in approvals are forcing many large corporate entities to seek out opportunities in other geographies," it said. "While we appreciate and support the need for environmental protection, it should be recognised that there is an impasse on environmental clearances which continues to delay several investment proposals and hamper economic growth," it said. Among other measures, it is worthwhile considering the introduction of an on-line auction process for allocation of natural resources which will provide the much needed transparency and prevent discretionary and irregular practices, the Open Letter said. Owing to several such impediments, fresh investments are not forthcoming at the pace required for a rapidly growing economy, it added. Other eminent personalities who signed the letter include, Justice Sam Variava (former Supreme Court Judge), Anu Aga (Director Thermax), Keshub Mahindra (Chairman Mahindra & Mahindra), Justice B N Srikrishna (former Supreme Court Judge).