Public-private-sector-vigilance-officers-join-hands-to-fight-graft
A meeting of vigilance officers from public and private sector companies. Recently the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s headquarters at Lodhi Road was venue to an unusual meeting of minds. For the first time, about 30 chief vigilance officers (CVOs) from public sector organisations and senior compliance officers from the private sector came together to explore possibilities of fighting corruption jointly.

In a rare display of bonhomie, vigilance officers from either side spoke about the need to create a climate of compliance among corporates, with more focus on preventive vigilance.

now, vigilance officers in the public and private sectors largely kept each other at an arm’s length. The private sector – perceived to be the supply side of corruption in the government – is considered lax when it comes to compliance of anti-graft measures, both within and outside. On the other hand, a robust vigilance-related administrative structure is said to cast its shadow on the decision-making process in the public sector. But, the overall goal of any vigilance or compliance officer – both in the private or public sector-is same.

We are on two sides of a river that is full of crocodiles, namely middlemen. It is time to build a bridge to exchange best practices that improve compliance and transparency within the private and the public sectors,” said Parvez Hayat, chief vigilance officer, Power Grid Corporation, and president of Vigilance Study Circle, Delhi-NCR, one of the co-organisers of the event.