Corruption is a cancer to society: President Patil

New Delhi, Nov 12 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil on Thursday expressed concern over increasing corruption in all walks of life and described it as a cancer affecting society.

Delivering the inaugural lecture series organized by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) here, Patil said the nation is losing resources due to the social evil of corruption. She also stressed on bringing more transparency in the system.

"The system has to be made corruption free. Like a cancer, corruption is that sore which drains the strength of a nation. Corruption has deprived the nation of better infrastructure and better facilities," Patil said.

She said when only a fraction of money is spent for the purpose for which it is allocated, the impact is far less than the intended or envisaged.

"For example, corruption in the public distribution system means that food meant for the poorer sections of society is not reaching them and as a result the national objective of removing poverty and hunger suffers," Patil said.

"The people feel let down, the nation loses resources and we lag behind others. It is one malaise which brooks no delay," she added.

The President also expressed concern over the opaqueness and unaccountability among the public servants and stressed on the need of transparency in functioning.

"Withholding information from the public creates a distance between the civil servant and the people; it results in a gap between those responsible for governing and those for whose benefits the system operates," she said. (ANI)