CVC seeks strong anti-corruption mechanisms for regulators

NEW DELHI: Anti-corruption watchdog CVC has sought tough measures to check corruption in various regulatory bodies including SEBI and FMC besides appointment of full-time chief vigilance officers (CVOs) in some of these regulators.

In a letter to Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) stressed on the need to put in place detailed vigilance mechanism in regulatory bodies like Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Forward Markets Commission (FMC) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI).

According to official sources, the letter also sought appointment of full-time CVOs, who will act as distant arm of the CVC, in some of the regulators, they said.

"The procedure to process graft complaints received against any regulators is not clear. The CVC being the country's top body to check corruption cannot seek report from them directly," a DoPT official said.

"The CVC needs to route complaints through ministries, under whose domain a concerned regulator comes, which takes time. Also, the monitoring of follow-up action in these cases also does not reach the Commission in time," the official said.

There were instances to show that some of the regulators do not follow uniform policy to appoint a CVO to check graft complaints. The internal vigilance mechanism in the regulators is not satisfactory, he said.

According to the sources, the charge of vigilance work is given to any officer within the regulator without CVC's consent. Some of the regulators appoint part-time CVOs without informing the CVC, they said.

According to rules, full time CVOs are appointed in government organisations which are more prone to corruption while part time CVOs are appointed in departments where the possibility of corruption is less.