Already under pressure to sternly deal with charges of corruption, the government has set up a high-level committee to look for ways and means to make the long pending Lok Pal Bill more robust.
The panel on the Lok Pal Bill, which is a committee of secretaries, headed by Cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar, had recently met here to consider the suggestions made by NGOs and private individuals in its effort to make the proposed legislation more effective.
One of the criticism against Lok Pal Bill, which came from the respondents, included the complaint mechanism provided in the proposed legislation, sources said, adding that currently, as proposed, the Lokpal will not have any power to either initiate action suo motu in any case or even receive complaints of corruption from general public.
“The public will make complaints to the Lok Sabha Speaker or Rajya Sabha chairperson. Only those complaints forwarded by them would be investigated by the Lokpal,” they said, adding that this, some felt, would severely restrict the functioning of the proposed Ombudsman.
Some NGOs have also objected to the restriction of the three-member panel of Lokpal to retired judges and wanted eminent people from other walks of life to be a part of the panel.
Sources said, the government is keen on giving a “final shape” to the bill in the coming days so that the draft legislation could be introduced in the Budget Session itself. A GoM, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, formed recently to suggest means to tackle corruption plans, is expected to come out with concrete suggestions on the bill during the budget session beginning on Monday so that the proposed legislation can be discussed with opposition parties to evolve a consensus.