‘Governance suffers multiple organ failure’

Closed-circuit cameras may be installed in govt offices to check corruption: BMC chief

The Commissioner of the country's richest civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has said the number of scams in the last few years suggests governance in India suffers from a 'multiple organ failure'.

At an employee workshop on ethical public service in the cool climes of Panchgani, Sitaram Kunte, a 1985-batch IAS officer who took charge as BMC Commissioner on May 1, listed two dozen scams starting from the Rs 2.2-crore Kuo oil deal in 1976 to the Rs 1,76,000-crore 2G scam of 2010. Of the 24 scams, nine have happened between 2000 and 2010.

"Seeing the number of scams in the last few years, it represents a case of 'multiple organ failure' in governance," he said.

Kunte said corruption could be tackled through police, doctor, engineer or a combination of doctor and engineer approaches.

From the doctor's lens, corruption can be seen as a disease to be treated. Taking on graft in government offices required breakdown maintenance in engineer approach, he said.

"Like servomechanism (unmanned aircraft), we can have closed-circuit cameras in government offices as an extreme measure to curb corruption," Kunte said.

The five-day workshop on ethics started on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti. It has been designed by members of Initiatives of Change, a global organisation working in areas of governance, Governance suffers 'multiple organ failure', says BMC chief moral and spiritual reconstruction of societies, along with Arun Wakhlu, founding chairman of Pragati Leadership Institute.

The first batch of participants included assistant commissioners of administrative wards and chief engineers of various departments.

BMC, with an annual budget of Rs 26,500 crore, has been battling not only complaints of poor service but also allegations of corruption. It issues several contracts every year, some of which leave much to be desired in terms of transparency.

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