Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha reaffirmed that corruption will not be tolerated in his administration and praised the public and members of civil society for their involvement in the “Bhrashtachar-Mukt J&K” campaign, which aims to eradicate corruption in the Union territory. He declared that there is zero tolerance for corruption in the J&K administration. Seeing coordinated efforts to eradicate the evil of corruption and an integrated strategy to bolster accountability and transparency in the system to create a forward-thinking, affluent Jammu and Kashmir is encouraging.
In J&K, corruption has always been a significant problem. Although all of the relevant governments have made a point of addressing it in public, the reality is that corruption is such a pervasive threat that a comprehensive strategy is required to completely remove it from society. A comprehensive strategy involving individuals, civil society, and government institutions is needed to combat corruption. In order to make the current anti-corruption laws more strict and efficient, the government must examine and update them. It must also make sure that the rules are regularly enforced and that those found guilty of corruption face harsh consequences.
Following the text and spirit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act is one of the most effective ways to combat corruption in government agencies. This Act may encourage openness in how the government operates. Additionally, the administration must to push for the public release of financial and operational data on a regular basis by government entities. The government should implement a policy that protects whistleblowers and, as a result, motivates people to come forward with corruption reports without worrying about facing consequences. Sadly, what has been going on is that if someone tries to volunteer to reveal corrupt practises of some officials, they are singled out and powerful officers make sure that the person trying to expose corruption is penalised rather than the dishonest.
If the administration is sincere about addressing the problem, it must make sure that these things don't occur. Having said that, there are a few dishonest people that abuse RTI in order to further their own selfish financial gain. Although they pose as the anti-corruption brigade, they are actually low-cost blackmailers. They must be monitored by the administration. The administration of UT is working nonstop to support initiatives related to e-governance. By eliminating the necessity for face-to-face encounters with public servants, these programmes would lessen the likelihood of corruption. Additionally, it has been pushing for the digitization of government records and procedures in an effort to decrease manual labour and improve transparency. These are excellent initiatives, but it's important to make sure they're not insensitive to others. Essentially, the public must support efforts to combat corruption, and in order to do so, the administration must interact with citizens and civil society. They have the power to expose the corrupt individuals and put an end to the threat, but they are hesitant to do so because they pose a greater risk to themselves than the larger officer they are reporting. The government ought to guarantee that people's sincere grievances will be looked into and that no one in the administration will be permitted to interfere with them. The administrations ought to support citizen-led projects that expose corrupt practises and investigative journalism.It ought to promote public engagement in governance by means of town hall meetings, open consultations, and feedback portals. Reducing corruption is a gradual process that calls for consistent work by the public sector and the government. To effectively combat corruption in Jammu and Kashmir or any other area, legal actions must be combined with cultural and societal transformations.
