Ministers' discretionary powers allow them to directly allot government land - paper
NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - India plans to curtail discretionary powers awarded to ministers in an attempt to combat graft and salvage the reputation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government after a series of major corruption scams, the Mail Today reported.
According to the newspaper, a recently established ministerial group -- charged with coming up with a check-list of anti-graft steps for government -- agreed on Monday to curb some of their own powers as part of the crackdown on corruption.
More than half of India's ministers have discretionary powers which permit them to directly allot government land, change the terms of land use, appoint and transfer civil servants and approve projects, the daily said.
"The Government of India, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, approved a note to end the discretionary power of ministers," the Mail Today quoted an unnamed official as saying.
"It would be sent for the Union cabinet's approval after the home ministry gives it a final shape."
In recent months, a series of major scandals have plagued Singh's Congress-led coalition government.
His government is struggling to emerge from charges that India lost $39 billion due to graft in the granting of telecoms licenses in 2008, which forced the resignation of the telecoms minister.
The scandal has paralysed parliament, with the opposition refusing to participate in the national assembly until a joint investigation into the fraud is conducted.
A separate bribe-for-loans banking scandal which implicates state and private lenders is also being investigated, in addition to a housing scam in the western state of Maharashtra and allegations of corruption in the procurement of goods in the run-up to the Commonwealth games.
"The process of decision-making ought to be transparent and justified with sound reasoning," said N.C. Saxena, a member of the National Advisory Council, a key council headed by the country's most powerful politician, Sonia Gandhi, which advises on policy issues.
"Doing away with them (discretionary powers) will increase transparency. If the minister turns down the advice given by senior officials, he should state the reason for doing so," Saxena was quoted by the paper as saying.
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