New Delhi: The government is considering strengthening the investigating arm of the Central Vigilance Commission through larger autonomy and appointment of field experts to deal more effectively with corruption-related cases.
Sources said the move was necessitated following the recommendation of a high-level Committee under the chairmanship of former Comptroller and Auditor General VK Shunglu which went into alleged irregularities in the Commonwealth Games-related projects.
They said a working group comprising senior officials of the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT), CVC and independent consultants may be formed to decide on it.
"The Government is considering evolving the role of the Chief Technical Examiners' (CTE) wing to make it more effective. The matter will soon be discussed with the Central Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar," a senior official of the DOPT, which acts as a nodal ministry for CVC, said.
He said the government is considering contractual appointment of experts on cyber security, fraud detection and forensic accounting, among others, in the Commission, close on the lines of suggestions made by the Shunglu Committee.
The high-level Committee, which submitted six reports on CWG irregularities to the Prime Minister's Office, has suggested changes in the functioning and structure of CAG and CVC among other audit and vigilance bodies.
Shunglu, in his six-page confidential letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has said that autonomy of the CTE wing needs to be increased and recommended outsourcing of professional hands to assist in its probe.
"Degree of autonomy of CTE is insufficient; it needs to be increased. CTE should outsource certain specific issues to specialist consultants, for example, design, testing, etc, and may have a panel of consultants.
"CTE's inspection should afford an opportunity for rectifying error rather than being restricted to post-mortem fault finding," Shunglu had said.
The CTE wing of the Commission conducts technical examination of public procurements and works being done by government departments.
Sources said the Government was examining the recommendations made by the Shunglu Committee.
"HLC reports do not address the over-sight mechanism because doing so would have immediately placed the matter in public domain, generated a debate with more fervour than foresight and tended to compromise the standing of these institutions envisaged by the Constitution/Parliament," Shunglu said.
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