Srinagar: Alleging that corruption has engulfed almost all the institutions in Jammu and Kashmir, senior CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami on Monday urged the Governor administration to tighten the noose around those officials involved in corrupt practices.

“There is a perception among common people that from recruitment to transfers and from allotting government works to providing basic amenities, everything is on sale. Bribe has almost become a requisite for getting a piece of work done in government offices.

There is a sort of inertia that has crept into the offices, where nothing moves till there are some illegal gratifications to be made. Even our universities, police and other important institutions have not remained immune from this menace,” Mr Tarigami, who is MLA from Kulgam, said.

He alleged the lack of transparency in the administration has meant that the menace has assumed monstrous proportions. “The failure of successive governments to tackle rampant corruption has meant that it has become institutionalized in many respects,” he said.

In recent years, he said the government took some half-hearted measures to curb the menace. “One of the step in this direction was to fire those officials who were indulging in corrupt practices and were declared as dead wood,” he said.

However, he said most of the officials, who were terminated on such charges, were later restored by the courts. “It shows that either the charges against them were false, or the Government took half-hearted measures to pursue these cases in the courts,” he said.

Mr Tarigami said that the daily struggle of people with corruption tells upon the public confidence in the administration. “The successive governments have been making tall claims about good governance, but it is impossible to think of good or clean governance, if corruption remains rampant,” he said.

“The Governor administration must to activate and empower the anti-graft bodies including State Accountability Commission (SAC), State Vigilance Commission (SVC) and State Information Commission (SIC) to bring accountability and transparency in the government works. Apart from unresolved political issues, lack of governance has always been an issue in the state,” he said.

“As the corruption has spread its tentacles deep, it is high time that Governor N N Vohra takes a lead to eradicate this menace. It could help in restoring the shattered confidence of people in the government institutions. The aim should be rule of law and merit should prevail everywhere,” he added.

Though, he said it would be a long fight before the menace can be eradicated fully, any steps taken at this time may help in restoring confidence of people in the institutions. (UNI)