The actions of
Punjab Government have started to bear fruits now. It is learned that since the
CM issued helpline number 9501200200 against corruption on 23rd
March to mark Martyr’s day, around 1 lac 60 thousand complaints have been
registered through Audio or Video massages making it about 23000 per day or
about 16 per minute. Out of these complaints almost half relate to either food
and supplies department or Revenue Department.
With Mohali
as the Headquarters, Punjab has been divided into seven zones for this service.
Any complaint lodged will be received by Mohali Headquarters and then forwarded
to the concerned range. Then the matter will be verified and investigated
thoroughly and FIR will be registered. The seven ranges are:
1. Mohali-Ropar
2. Amritsar
3. Jalandhar
4. Ludhiana
5. Patiala
6. Ferozepur
7. Bathinda
The culprits found would be charged under section 7 of the Prevention of
Corruption act 1988 amended 2018 and section 120-B of IPC and will result in 7 years imprisonment and a
fine.
Everything is fine up to now! But wait a minute!
Let us come to the real point. How many FIR,s have been registered so
far under this department? You will be surprised to know just 2! One was registered
against a clerk in the revenue department in Jalandhar for a cash-for-job scam and CM
sir himself informed the Public of this FIR. And the second one was registered on
Monday against Police personnel including an ASI for asking for a bribe for
recovery of funds misappropriated.
The question arises is this the failure of the system or are the majority of
the complaints of non-serious nature? It Can be a mix of both I think.
This Helpline number is a very good initiative by Punjab Government and
must be used wisely. I would request CM Bhagwant Mann to look into the matter and
revamp the system to expedite the inquiry and verification process as also the
Public, in general, to forward only serious complaints so that our problems can
be attended to quickly and in a smooth manner.