Vigilance is defined as watchfulness, alertness, and caution. The word vigilance tells to be on vigil, to be vigilant, to be alert, and to have vigilance of organization’s image and reputation as well as to have vigilance of the organization’s assets. Vigilance is an essentially a management function aimed at ensuring orderly conduct of affairs by the employees of the organization. Vigilance is a tool of management. It is primarily a responsibility of the management. An organization has both external threats and internal dangers. The organization protects from external threats through creating security to guard against such threats. The role of vigilance is to protect the organization from internal dangers which are more serious than external threats.
Principles of vigilance
Vigilance is an integral part of the management. It provides important instruments for improving performance of an organization. This includes promoting clean business transactions, professionalism, productivity, promptness and ethical practices. It also assists in systemic improvements in curbing opportunities for corruption. Therefore, vigilance helps in improving efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel as well as the organization. There are four cardinal principles of vigilance which are given below:
Transparency – Disclosing all the facts or matter from all those who are stakeholders and who take the decisions.
Fairness – Application of same principles to all concerned under similar conditions.
Competitiveness – Encouraging competition within the organization in the interest of the organization.
Accountability – This means that if there is any deviation from the laid down rules/ procedures in the interest of the organization that should be clearly recorded upfront rather be used later as justification.
The main objective of vigilance function in any organization is to assist the management to achieve its goal by ensuring that all transactions are carried out as per systems and procedures while minimizing the scope of malpractices/ misconduct and misuse of funds. Thus the role of vigilance department is complimentary and not contradictory to the organizational objectives as often made out.
Vigilance in an organization is normally of three following types:-
Preventing vigilance – It is done by ensuring a sound work system which minimizes the scope for irregularities/ malpractices. Preventing vigilance is carried out for reducing corruption in an effective manner through the following: –
- Detailed examination of the existing procedure and simplifying rules and procedures.
- Locating sensitive spots and have focused attention.
- Posting of the employees with clean image at sensitive spots and further to have a periodical rotation policy for the employees in these areas.
- Focused attention is to be done on the officers of doubtful integrity (DI).
- Curtailing or restricting discretions of the employees.
- Improving transparency in the organization.
- Enhancing fairness, competitiveness and accountability amongst the employees through awareness, education, and training.
- Ensuring that there is strict observance of the conduct rules in the organization.
- Restricting the administrative delays and ensuring quick decision making.
Surveillance and detective vigilance – It is done to find out irregularities / malpractices through inspections / checks / reviews etc. It is carried out by the following:-
- Conducting surprise checks/inspections.
- Introducing elaborate check and control system.
- Taking prompt actions on the complaints and feedbacks.
- Scrutinizing sensitive documents such as annual property returns, and audit reports etc.
- Cultivating the system of informers or other sources for the detection of irregularities in the organization.
Reactive or punitive vigilance – It consists of carrying out the investigations and assisting disciplinary authority in taking punitive action by initiating and following up disciplinary proceedings against the employee having lack of integrity. For reactive vigilance the following are important issues.
- The principles of natural justice are to be followed
- It is dealing with the actual lapses only
- Taking of disciplinary actions against the employee only after the charges are proved without any doubt
There are broadly two types namely Preventive Vigilance and Punitive Vigilance in the organization. Preventive Vigilance mainly deals with imparting proper education, training, bringing about improvement in the systems and procedures and imparting guidance to the employees while Punitive Vigilance encompasses taking disciplinary action against the erring employee.
Despite many steps by the government, corruption persists and thrives in India. Embezzlement of public funds, fraudulent public procurement, corruption in enforcement and regulatory institutions, all plague our public life. Several studies have shown that corruption not only stifles growth, but also perpetuates inequality, deepens poverty, causes human suffering, dilutes efforts to fight against terrorism and organized crime, and tarnishes image of the country.
Today fight against corruption is seen as the job of a few anticorruption agencies, whereas in reality, it is the responsibility of every citizen and organization. Given the entrenchment of corruption in our society, for any strategy against corruption to be successful, sustained commitment will be imperative from all factors of society. Collaboration amongst all stakeholders may be enhanced to ensure that corruption cases are detected, reported, and prosecuted properly.
The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) has been one of the key initiatives for preventing and curbing corruption. In order for the RTI Act to become even more effective a tool against corruption, the scope of exemptions from disclosure of information should be reduced under RTI. From an anticorruption perspective the following should be undertaken:
- Proactive disclosures should be more;
- Public education and awareness raising programmes to be conducted;
- Chapter on Right to Information should be incorporated in school and college curricula.
Citizens’ Charter is one such tool to improve access to information and empower citizens, provided the charters are based on extensive public and internal consultation, lay down minimum service standards and grievance redressal procedures clearly, and are widely disseminated. It should be made available online too.
Social audit should be made mandatory for all public utilities as in education or health sector as a tool to ensure transparency and accountability. Civil society organizations and NGOs may be strengthened & empowered so that they are able to carry out the social audit effectively & efficiently. This can be done by training them through state level institutions on anticorruption issues, modes and best practices in conducting social audit and their expected role in the conduct of social audit.
There is also a need for collaborative work between the government which has expertise and resources, and civil society organizations that have greater reach among people. Civil society organizations working on governance and corruption related issues should work closely in raising awareness among people about governance and anticorruption, and the remedies available against corrupt officials.
The legal structure of society forms an important pillar in the fight against corruption. In India, the legal framework for curbing and controlling corruption is primarily based on statutory and common law. The lack of a legislation and adequate mechanism for protection of whistle blowers and witnesses has often resulted in complaints not being made out of fear of reprisals or in anonymous or pseudonymous complaints, which are then either ignored or not investigated. There is no direct provision in the PC Act to prohibit a private person from offering a bribe or engaging in corrupt practices.
Anti-corruption education should be integrated in school subjects such as civics. The syllabi must implicitly link to cover moral issues and provide concepts such as public good and social justice that are key to understand the need for fighting corruption. From public administration, business, law and economics schools to technical and engineering professions, anticorruption must be a part of the curriculum. It is essential that anticorruption education continue to be imbibed through a variety of means. There is no substitute for individual integrity in the fight against corruption and this sense of integrity needs to be inculcated amongst the citizens through various stages of their life. An anticorruption strategy can be successful only if it is made an obligation for any member of society who sees corrupt practice being perpetrated, to immediately report such practices. Citizen’s voice and responsiveness initiatives could position citizens as independent watchdogs.