'Catch them young': CVC's new mantra to check corruption

NEW DELHI: ' Catch them young' has become the new mantra for the Central Vigilance Commission to check corruption in the country.

In order to raise awareness among youngsters on harmful effects of corruption, the CVC has decided to rope in youths and college students to debate on the menace.

It has also asked Chief Vigilance Officers (CVOs) -- who act as distant arm of the Commission -- of big government organisations to take responsibility of a particular city in this regard.

This first-of-its-kind move is part of a series of programmes to be organised during Vigilance Awareness Week to be organised across the country next month.

"This year the Commission has desired that debates be organised on a large scale involving youth and college students. The debate competitions should be organised in all the major cities of the country and CVOs may coordinate among themselves for taking responsibility for a particular city.

"This would ensure that vigilance becomes a point of discussion by reaching out to youth in metros and 30-40 tier-II cities all over India," the CVC said in a directive to secretaries of all central government ministries and chief secretaries of state governments.

In order to reach out to the common public and convey the message that corruption does not pay and also to highlight the positive role being played by the vigilance wings of various organisations through preventive vigilance, the Commission is working on getting made six short episodes which would be telecast during Vigilance Awareness Week from October 26-31.

"The Commission desires that CVOs may also explore the possibility of carrying out sustained media campaign," it said. The theme of this year's Vigilance Awareness Week is "preventive vigilance as a tool of good governance".

Preventive vigilance could broadly be described as a package of measures to improve systems and procedures in a way so as to reduce scope for discretion and eliminate corruption.

Good governance is about the processes for making good decisions and their effective implementation, the CVC said.

All ministries, departments, public sector undertakings are advised to display banners and posters at prime locations in their offices and at places with public interfaces such as bank branches, petrol pumps, railway stations and airports, etc.

They have also been asked to carry out media campaign at an appropriate scale on anti-corruption.

A report on observance of Vigilance Awareness Week need to be sent to the CVC by November 30, by all departments and organisations, the directive said.