Shunglu committee has no bite, admits prime minister -Governance Now

Shunglu committee has no bite, admits prime minister

Directs the cab sec to examine observations made by the civil society

Danish Raza | December 17, 2010

The prime minister’s office (PMO) has admitted that the Shunglu committee, which it appointed to probe alleged cases of corruption in the commonwealth games 2010, does not have adequate powers.

In a note dated November 11, 2010 and addressed to the cabinet secretary, the PMO has said, “…prime facie it appears that its powers and jurisdiction do not derive from statute as is the case with the CAG, the CVC, the CBI, the ED. “

In October, many social activists including Arvind Kejriwal sent an open letter to the PM highlighting deficiencies in the Shunglu committee.

The letter said that the efforts of the committee may prove to be ineffective as unlike the CVC and the CAG, it does not have the powers and jurisdiction under law to conduct the most basic enquiries i.e. call for records, summon/ question/ record statements of officers, politicians or contractors.

A month after the letter was sent, Delhi based RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal filed RTI application with the PMO asking if it has received the letter and action taken on the same.

According to the reply, the prime minister has agreed that the matter be examined and discussed.

Further, the PMO has asked the cabinet secretary to comment on the observations regarding the powers and jurisdiction of the V K Shugnlu committee.

The committee was constituted as a high level committee vide cabinet secretariat on October 25.

The two-member committee is headed by former comptroller and auditor general (CAG) V K Shunglu. Shantanu Consul, former secretary, department of personnel and training is its second member.

The panel has three month deadline to submit report.

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