DW BUREAU / chandigarh The first meeting of the High-Powered panel Chaired by Chief Secretary, Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal constituted to investigate graft cases in Haryana will soon be held in which major decisions on the policies being adopted by the State Government to curb corruption and important discussion on pending corruption cases is likely to take place. Notably, recently the Chief Minister Manohar Lal had announced the formation of a new High Powered Committee against corruption. Sharing more information, the Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said that in a recent meeting chaired by Chief Minister several decisions have been taken to eliminate corruption and it is expected that after the implementation of these decisions, corruption cases will be curbed. Kaushal said that regular meetings of the High Power Committee would be held and the action being taken on the cases registered by the State Vigilance Bureau would be reviewed from time to time. He said that the State Vigilance Bureau would also be strengthened further. For this, the services of four retired CBI officers are being taken into the Bureau, to speed up the investigation of the cases. Besides this, the expansion of the State Vigilance Bureau is also being done at the division level. The Divisional Vigilance Bureau has been authorized to investigate complaints up to Rs. 1 crore and they will no longer have to seek permission from the headquarters level for the said investigation, said Kaushal. The Chief Secretary said that after the completion of the investigation at the Bureau level, the sanction of prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act is mandatory for the trial of the case in the court, for this also legal advice has been sought from the Advocate General on authorizing the Divisional Commissioner to take decisions at their level only. Besides this, efforts are now being made that Chief Vigilance Officers can be appointed from other departments as well through the empanelment process. Presently, every department has a Chief Vigilance Officer of the same department, informed the Chief Secretary. Kaushal said that consistent efforts of the State Government, officers and employees involved in corruption cases are being caught and appropriate action is being taken against them. With the formation of this Committee, every possible effort would be made to weed out corruption. He said that to accelerate the pace of development, continuous meetings are being held with the Administrative Secretaries for the projects worth more than Rs 100 crore so that these projects are completed in a time-bound manner. Kaushal informed that more than 19 lakh property cards have been made in the state under the SVAMITVA scheme and all the work will be completed by April 24. Now by getting a property card, people living in rural areas will get not only get ownership rights but they will now be able to buy and sell the property. Apart from this, they will also be able to avail bank loans on their properties. (editor@dailyworld.in)