Government asks VACB to remove QV hurdle

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has instructed the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB) not to deny vigilance clearance to all-India service officers who have applied for central deputation just because a quick verification has been initiated against them on a complaint.
The order was issued after it was observed that the requests for the deputation to various posts in the Centre by several officers belonging to IAS, IPS and IFS from the state and those awaiting central empanelment are being turned down by the Centre as their vigilance clearance status (which is a mandatory requirement for deputation) states that a quick verification or a preliminary inquiry is pending against them.

“It is observed that due diligence is not carried out while reporting the vigilance status in accordance with the guidelines of Government of India,” the order issued by general administration department in this regard said. The order further said that the wide array of information on existing vigilance inquiry, vigilance case and quick verification against officers without any judicious analysis is causing non-consideration of officers from state cadre for empanelment and assignments at the Centre.

The order said that the vigilance clearance should not be withheld due to filing of a complaint with VACB unless it is established on the basis of at least apreliminary inquiry or on the basis of any substantive information that there is prima facie substance in the allegations. The order also said that the vigilance clearance shall not be withheld if the preliminary inquiry on the complaints received against the officers takes more than three months to be completed.

“The trend in VACB in the recent past is to register a case against an official on the basis of a frivolous petition by either benamis of some politicians or officials or to settle personal scores, and get a QV launched against them. When the officers apply for central deputation, the agency writes in the file that a QV is pending against the officer because of which the Centre will turn down the request. Officers from all the states apply for a particular post at Centre and those from Kerala will lose the chance only because of vigilance clearance. The officer may be exonerated at a later stage, but by then, the chance will be lost,” a senior officer who lost a deputation chance because of pending vigilance clearance said on conditions of anonymity.