'Awareness of Lok Ayukta led to increase in complaints'

Gulbarga, Jan 9 (UNI) Thanks to increased awareness about Lok Ayukta among the masses, the number of pending cases with the institution has increased to 18,000 now, Lok Ayukta Mr Justice N Santosh Hegde said today.

Addressing a press conference here, he said 16,000 cases were pending when he assumed charge last year. ''Lok Ayukta is not only an anti-corruption body, but it's also to oversee good governance.'' Stating that all MLAs and MLCs have been asked to furnish their asset details by June, Mr Justice Hegde said the defaulters list would be sent to the Governor. ''We have asked the Government to accord us powers to issue notices to the defaulting MLAs and MLCs.'' The Lok Ayukta would hold grievances meetings across the State to create more awareness among the people, he said, adding that they have urged the Government to give more teeth to the institution to tackle serious cases and solve problems at the earliest.

Later, the Lok Ayukta held a public grievances meeting and heard a number of complaints from the public and instructed the officials concerned to solve them as quickly as possible.

UNI