Chief minister Vijay Bahuguna Sunday said he would carry out certain amendments in the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill, which was passed by the state Assembly unanimously in November last.
“We have to take (lower) judiciary out of purview of the Lokaykta Bill and carry out certain amendments,” Mr Bahuguna said as the bill faced an uncertain future with the Centre not showing any willingness to give its final approval.
However, Mr Bahuguna did not comment as to when the amendments will be carried out.
While the lower judiciary will be covered under the lokayukta, judges of the state high court will not be under the purview of the measure which has won praise from Anna Hazare.
After giving assent to the bill on November one last year, governor Margaret Alva had sent the bill to President Pratibha Patil for final approval.
Since then, the bill is lying in limbo, official sources said.
Even former chief minister B.C. Khanduri, who once used to describe the bill as a major achievement of his government, is not saying much on the issue after the Assembly elections. But when quizzed, Mr Khanduri said he had asked the Centre repeatedly to give its approval in order to fight corruption. “I want to make it clear that the bill is being held up at the Centre,” Mr Khanduri said.
After the assent of the governor, the bill was sent to President Pratibha Patil as the subject falls under the concurrent list.
Significantly, the Lokayukta Bill was one of the major poll planks of the BJP during the Assembly polls. The BJP, however, fell one seat short of becoming the single-largest party in the state.
In one such reminder, Mr Khanduri said he himself wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the early clearance of the bill which would help eradicate corruption.
In a separate reminder, chief secretary Subhash Kumar had also sent a similar letter to the Centre for early approval of the bill, Mr Khanduri said.
When asked why the Central government was delaying the bill, Mr Khanduri said it was largely due to its tough provisions. “The bill drafted by the centre is in much diluted form as compared to the one we have passed,” he said.