Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena (left) with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has approved a proposal for creation of the post of Director (Investigation) in the office of the Delhi Lokayukta, sources at the Administrative Reforms Department said on Wednesday.
The L-G gave his nod to create a position with “sufficient seniority to head the Ombudsman’s investigative wing, apart from creating posts of assistants and peons necessary for its daily functioning”, they said.
Retired Jharkhand High Court judge Harish Chandra Mishra is the current Lokayukta of Delhi, having been appointed in March. The post had been vacant since the retirement of Justice Ms. Rewa Khetrapal in December 2020.
Officials said that the Lokayukta, mandated to investigate complaints of corruption by government officials, has been “without an investigation in-charge” and that it had been “crippled ever since its inception”. “The Lokayukta will soon find teeth for the discharge of its functions and responsibilities,” they added.
Last month, Mr. Saxena approved the Statutory Annual Reports of the Lokayukta for the years 2017-18 and 2018-19. The reports had highlighted a number of concerns related to the functioning of the Lokayukta’s office, including lack of machinery for conducting investigations, limited jurisdiction, as well as the Lokayukta facing “constraints” with its “independence, lack of powers, compromised financial autonomy”.
The L-G had advised Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to address the concerns raised in the reports.
