The State Administrative Council (SAC) is set to clear a proposal to re-christen the Vigilance Organization (VO) in J&K as Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), sources told Greater Kashmir.
An official said the SAC headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik, which will meet on Wednesday, is likely to give its go-ahead for establishing the ACB in place of the Vigilance Organization.
“It is part of a plan to strengthen the mechanism for fighting corruption in the state and also to bring it at par with other states,” he said.
He said the SAC would also clear the amendments to facilitate appointment of chief vigilance commissioner and vigilance commissioners in the state vigilance commission (SVC) even during Governor’s rule.
“It was not possible to make these appointments during Governor’s rule because Chief Minister, Leader of the opposition in Assembly, Law Minister and a senior Minister are part of the committee that recommends the names for these positions to Governor,” he said.
According to him, the proposed amendments empower Governor to set-up a committee comprising three advisors and chief secretary for making recommendations for these coveted positions when state is under Governor’s rule.
The amendment is being made at a time when SVC is functioning without a Vigilance Commissioner (VC).
Comprising of CVC and two VCs, the SVC was set-up under an Act of the state legislature in 2011 by the then NC-Congress government.
Presently, PL Gupta (former IPS officer) and Gazzanfar Hussain (ex-IAS officer) are respectively functioning as CVC and VC.