Nitish Kumar’s move to curb corruption, red-tapism lauded

Patna, Dec 1 IANS) A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that a bill giving the right to service to the people will be introduced, the move was lauded by the people who are fed up with rampant corruption and red-tapism in the state.

Nitish Kumar’s first move after he became the chief minister for the second consecutive term has generated hope among people and sent a strong message that he was committed to good governance.

“It is a much sought after move to curb corruption and eliminate red-tapism,” Gopal Singh, a contractor, told IANS.

Added Dhananjay Kumar, a school teacher: “The new legislation will give big relief to the people, particularly the poor who were forced to pay bribe for official work.”

Nitish Kumar said the motive behind such a legislation was to provide help to people to get work done within a given timeframe. It will not only eliminate corruption in administrative functioning but also speed up the delivery system.

The chief minister said if a government official failed to deliver a work or service within a given timeframe, he or she will be responsible for it and the government will impose a fine.

During the election campaign, Nitish Kumar promised voters that the corrupt will be sent to jail and their property seized if he gets to rule for five more years.

During his first tenure, he admitted time and again that rampant corruption had hit the implementation of development projects and welfare schemes for the poorest of poor in the state.

The state vigilance department arrested over 350 government officials, including 50 gazetted employees, on bribery charges in the last four years as part of its anti-corruption drive.

Eleven cases of confiscation of property of corrupt officials were also filed in vigilance courts in Patna.