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Vigilance Manual

2016

The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited


(A Government of West Bengal Enterprise)

Bidyut Unnayan Bhavan, 3/C, Block-LA, Sector-III


Bidhannagar, Kolkata-700098
Table of Contents

Chapter Contents Page


No.
I (Introduction) 1. Background 1-2
2. About the Company 3-4
3. Vigilance Set up 4
3.1. Corporate Level 4
3.2. Plant level 4
3.3. Reporting Structure 4
IA (Definition) Definition 5
II (Vigilance Concept) 4.1. Introduction 6
4.2. What is corruption? 6
4.3. How to curb corruption? 6
4.4. What is Vigilance? 6-7
4.5. Why Vigilance? 7
4.6. Principles of Vigilance 7
4.7. Where Vigilance? 7
4.8. What is Vigilance Angle ? 8
III (Function/Role of Vigilance) 5.1. Vigilance Head 9
5.2. Category of Vigilance Activity 9
5.3. Preventive Vigilance 9-11
5.4. Surveillance and Detection 12
5.5. Punitive Vigilance 12-18
IV (Preliminary Enquiry) 6.1. to 6.12. 19-23
V (Disciplinary Proceedings Related) 7.1. Relevant Regulations of the 24
Organisation
7.2. Punishment 24-27
7.3. Procedure of Proceedings 27-28
7.4. Suspension 28
7.5. Reinstatement 29
7.6. Appeal 29-30
7.7. Consultation with State Vigilance 30
Commission
7.8. Institution of Criminal Case 31
7.9. Consultation with CVO 31
7.10. Advice of State Vigilance 31
Commission not to be referred
7.11. Speedy disposal of disciplinary 31
cases
VI (Vigilance Clearance) 8.1. Withholding Vigilance Clearance 32
8.2. When Vigilance Clearance Required 32
VII (Miscellaneous) 9. Safeguard to Whistle Blower Against 33
victimization
10. Vigilance Awareness 33
10. Responsibility of other Officials 33-34
11. Relevant Acts / Rules & Regulations 34
12. Conclusion 34
Chapter I (Introduction)

1. Background

1.1. West Bengal State Vigilance Commission was set up vide resolution no. 221-GAC dated
4.3.1965 of the Government of West Bengal. Along with State Government Departments, the
Corporate Undertakings of the State Government were also brought under the ambit of the
state vigilance commission vide that resolution. However, for a State Undertaking to come
under the jurisdiction of State Vigilance Commission, a resolution accepting such jurisdiction
by the Board concerned was made necessary vide memo. no.

State Government. The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL)
in its 97th Board Meeting held on 14.6.2004 made such resolution, thus completing the
formalities for State Vigilance Commission to exercise its powers over the organisation and
its employees in vigilance matters.

The Government of West Bengal vide its Resolution No. 1/PAR (Vig) dated 10.12.2012
reconstituted the State Vigilance Commission and the earlier resolution dated 4.3.1965 was
repealed.

1.2. Power of State Vigilance Commission over WBPDCL (as per Resolution No. 1/PAR
(Vig) dated 10.12.2012):

i. Responsible for investigation through its Anti-Corruption Wings of offences alleged


to have been committed by public servant of WBPDCL under the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1988 and allied sections of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

ii. Inquire or cause an inquiry or investigation on a reference made by the WBPDCL


regarding alleged commitment of offence by a Public Servant of the organisation
under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and allied sections of Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973.

iii. Tender advice to WBPDCL on such matters as may be referred by the organisation.

iv. Exercise superintendence over the vigilance administration of WBPDCL.


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v. Call for reports, returns, statements or production of any documents / records from the
WBPDCL with a view to exercise general check and supervision over the vigilance
and anticorruption work in the organisation.

vi. Vigilance Commission will have the power to nominate one of its Commissioners for
Departmental Enquiries as Inquiring Authority in case of Vigilance related
Disciplinary Proceedings against employees of WBPDCL except in petty cases.

vii. Vigilance Commission will examine the report of the Commissioner for Departmental
Enquiries, which will in all cases be submitted by the Commissioner for Departmental
Enquiries to the Vigilance Commission, and the Commission will forward the record
of the case to the disciplinary authority of WBPDCL with its advice as to further
action.

viii. On receipt of report of the inquiry undertaken by any agency on a reference made by
the Commission and after taking into consideration any other factors relevant thereto,
advise WBPDCL as to the further course of action. WBPDCL shall consider the
advice of the Commission and take appropriate action.

1.3. It was stated in Memo No. 273(50)-GAC dated 19.3.1965 of State Home Department
(General Administration), that each State Government Department/Directorate/Corp. State
undertaking an officer of or corresponding to the rank of Deputy Secretary to Government
should be designated as the Vigilance Officer. It will be the responsibility of the Vigilance
Officer to co-ordinate work relating to vigilance in the department, etc., to reply to references
from the Vigilance Commission and in general, to ensure compliance with the procedure laid
down in the Home (General Administration) Department Resolution No. 221-GAC dated
4.3.1965 (substituted by Resolution No. 1/PAR(Vig) dated 10.12.2012 of Govt. of West
Bengal.

1.4. As per memo. no. 1411-P&AR(Vig.) dated 17.12.1976 of the State Government,
Government Companies are to form Vigilance Cells with whole time or part-time Vigilance
Officers as may be necessary depending on the size of the organisation.

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2. About the Company

The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) is a Government


Company engaged in the business of electric power generation and supply the same mainly to
the State distribution utility, namely West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company
Limited (WBSEDCL).

The Thermal Power Plants under WBPDCL are in Kolaghat (District- Purba Medinipur),
Bakreswar (District- Birbhum), Sagardighi (District- Murshidabad), Santaldih (District-
Purulia), and Bandel (District-Hooghly). The activities of WBPDCL are primarily restricted
to its Corporate office and the five Plants referred to above. Total installed capacity of
WBPDCL, at present, is 3860 MW. Another 1000 MW capacity will be added shortly.

WBPDCL has about 5000 regular employees and about 7000 contractual employees. The
organisation does not have any direct public interface as the entire power generated by the
company is distributed through WBSEDCL.

WBPDCL has business relation with Coal India Limited and Railways, WBSEDCL and
various other public as well as private agencies.

Of late, Government of India allotted 6 coal mines to WBDCL. Out of these 6 mines, 5
mines, ie., Tara(E&W), District-Burdwan, Kasta (East), District-Burdwan, Gangaramchak &
Gangaramchak-Badulia, District-Birbhum, Barjore, District-Birbhum and Barjora(N),
District-Bankura are located in West Bengal and Panchwara(N), District-Pakur located in
Jharkhand. The coal extracted from these coal mines will be used exclusively for the purpose
of generation of power by WBPDCL. The selection of Mine Developer and Operator (MDO)
for mining coal from these captive mines is going on. Once these mines start operation, coal
mining will also become another important activity of WBPDCL. Compare to Distribution
Company whose area of operation is spread all across the state, operational area of WBPDCL
is limited only to five (5) plants, six (6) mines and the corporate office.

Though limited in geographic spread, activity of the organisation is quite huge in terms of
volume and money involved thereof. While devising vigilance mechanism, therefore, this
particular nature and character of the Company has to be taken into consideration. Vigilance
activity needs to be focussed on sensitive operational areas like disposal of fly ash,
evacuation of ash from ash pond, engagement of contractual workers, recruitment process,
quality and quantity of coal received, procurement process especially in case of awarding
high value contracts (purchase, maintenance, service, projects comprising both supply &
work), store & inventory management.

Since WBPDCL is primarily an Engineering Organisation, fair amount of technical expertise


is required to understand vigilance angles in the processes undertaken by the employees of
the organisation. Therefore, there should be adequate representation of Engineers in the
Vigilance Set up.

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3. Vigilance Set Up

3.1. Corporate Level: The Composition of Vigilance Department of WBPDCL as per the
approved organisation structure of WBPDCL (approved by board on 19.7.2012) is as follows:

Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)

Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO)


(On deputation from the Service Cadre not
below the rank of Deputy Secretary)

DGM (HR&A) 01
PA / Stenographer 01

Sr. Asstt. / Asstt. 01

Support Staff 01 Sr.Mgr. (PS/Civil) – 02


Sr. Manager / Manager
Vigilance Officer 04 Sr. Mgr. (F&A/HR&A) - 02

3.2. Plant Level: Though in the approved organisation structure, there is no vigilance set up at
plant level, WBPDCL vide memo. nos. COHRA08110003/5936 to 5940 dated 24.11.2015
formed plant level vigilance cell for each of the five plants. Each Plant level Vigilance Cell
comprises of three Sr. Managers/Managers drawn from HRA, F&A and Engineering
Departments and one Executive. Such officials, however, are not deployed on exclusive basis
due to paucity of manpower and they are performing vigilance work in addition to their
normal duties at their original departments. The senior-most officer of the cell will act as a
Nodal Officer of the plant level vigilance cell. WBPDCL will very soon take decision
regarding deployment of officials at plant level vigilance cell on exclusive basis and
incorporate the same in the approved organisation structure.

3.3. Reporting Structure: CVO will work under the control of CMD and report directly to
CMD. All other officials of Vigilance Set up working at Corporate and Plant Level, whether
posted on exclusive basis or not, will work under the direct control and supervision of CVO
in respect of vigilance matters.

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Chapter IA (Definition)
Definitions:

Following definitions are not exhaustive and any words not defined in this Manual shall be
interpreted according to applicable laws of the land including The Prevention of Corruption
Act, 1988.

(a) Board means the Board of Directors of the Corporation.

(b) Commission means State Vigilance commission, if not otherwise mentioned.

(c) Competent Authority means the Chairman and Managing Director of the

Corporation for the purpose of these manual.

(d) Complaint means receipt of information, about corruption, malpractice or

misconduct, from whatever source.

(e) Corporation means The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited

(WBPDCL) and all its Power plants/offices/divisions.

(f) Corruption means any deliberate act or attempt to act of commission or omission by

an employee of the Corporation, for securing pecuniary or other material advantage

other than legal remuneration, directly or indirectly, for himself, his family or friends.

(g) CVO means Chief Vigilance Officer of WBPDCL appointed by the Govt. of West

Bengal.

(h) Employee means all the present employees and whole-time Directors of the

Corporation.

(i) Subsistence allowance means an allowance at an amount equal to leave salary which

the employee would have drawn, if he had been on leave on half pay. Where the

period of suspension exceeds 3 months, the amount of subsistence allowance may be

increased by a suitable amount, not exceeding 50% of the subsistence allowance

admissible during the period of first three months, if the reasons for prolongations of

suspension are not attributed to the employee.

(j) Vigilance means whatever is expressed under Clause 4.4 of Chapter II in this manual.

(k) Vigilance Officers mean CVO and other officials of vigilance set up, and include any

other officials engaged by CMD or CVO in any vigilance related activities.


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Chapter II (Vigilance Concept)

4.1. Introduction: Vigilance cannot be considered as an activity to merely prevent


corruption. It is a part of the overall risk management strategy aimed at preventing leakages
which adversely affect productivity and profitability. It is being increasingly recognized that
vigilance in any public sector or government is like any other function of management such
as finance, material, contracts etc., and is thus an integral part of administration.

4.2. What is corruption? This word is so commonly used and understood that it requires no
specific description. World Bank (1998) defines corruption as use of public office for private
gains. It generally denotes any act of commission or omission by a public servant, for
securing pecuniary or other material advantage, directly or indirectly, for himself, his family
or friends

4.3 How to curb corruption?

 Identifying complex rules/procedures and simplifying and rationalising the


same;
 Assisting in curtailing the discretion;
 Enhancing transparency and fairness in action;
 Improving accountability i.e. ensuring recording of reasons for deviations, if
any, in the business interest, from the existing rules and regulations;
 Encouraging devotion to duty, high level of integrity and commitment to the
organization;
 Facilitating promotion of honesty and ethical culture;
 Identifying major deviations with mala- fides; and
 Ensuring severe punishment to such personnel who are found to be using
public office for private gains.

4.4 What is Vigilance? In the context of an organization, Vigilance means keeping a


watchful eye on the activities of the organization and its personnel and taking prompt action
to promote ethical practices and ensure integrity and honesty in the official transactions.
Corruption implies lack of integrity but the concept of vigilance covers all kinds of deviations

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from standards of integrity as well as improper exercise of administrative discretion,
nepotism, favouritism and what is known as conduct unbecoming of a public servant.

4.5 Why Vigilance? There are individuals who indulge in unethical activities of getting
personal gains at the cost of the organization. Such persons not only lead to wastages, losses
and economic decline but also infect others and damage the image and goodwill of the
organization. Hence, to rein in such persons’ miss-endeavours and promote organizational
interest, vigilance is required. It helps in:

 Disciplining the wrong doers;


 Protecting honest performers;
 Increasing transparency and fairness;
 Ascertaining accountability;
 Reducing wastages/leakages;
 Promoting culture of honesty and integrity; and
 Reforming systems for corruption-free delivery.

4.6 Principles of Vigilance : Fairness, i.e., applying same principles to all concerned under
similar conditions; Accountability, i.e., if there is any deviation from the laid down rules or
procedures in the business interest of the organization that should be clearly recorded upfront
rather be used later as justification; Competitiveness, i.e., encouraging competition in the
interest of the Organization; Transparency, i.e., not hiding any facts or matter from all those
who are stakeholders in or for the decision; Time, i.e., decision should be taken within a
reasonable time otherwise the integrity of the decision taker becomes questionable.

4.7. Where Vigilance? Vigilance is essential in every organ of the organization. However, a
focused attention is required in each unit where:

 Officials have high discretion;


 There is scope for jumping the queue;
 Rules and procedures are not clearly laid down or are complex;
 Accountability is low;
 Delay in decision making is detrimental to the clients’ interest;
 Opportunities to negotiate exist; and
 Individuals are known to be corrupt.

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4.8 What is Vigilance Angle?

 Demanding and/or accepting gratification for an official act or influencing others;


 Obtaining valuables without consideration/with inadequate consideration from
someone in officials dealing directly/ indirectly;
 Receiving himself or for others valuables or pecuniary benefits by corrupt or
illegal means or by abusing power;
 Possessing assets disproportionate to income;
 Misappropriating, cheating forgery etc.; and
 Carrying out other irregularities which cast doubt on ones integrity.
 Any undue/unjustified delay in the disposal of a case, perceived after considering
all relevant factors, would reinforce a conclusion as to the presence of vigilance
angle in a case.

There are however other irregularities and administrative lapses where circumstances will
have to be weighed carefully to take a view:-

 Whether the officers integrity is in doubt;


 Gross or wilful negligence;
 Recklessness in decision making;
 Blatant violation of systems and procedures;
 Exercise of discretion in excess where no ostensible public interest is evident;
 Failures to keep the controlling authority/superiors informed in time are some of
the other irregularities which point to the existence of vigilance angle.

Vigilance organization takes up such matters for investigation and follow up punitive/
corrective actions, which have vigilance angle.

Absence of vigilance angle in various acts, omission and commission does not mean that the
concerned officials are not liable to face the consequences of his actions. All such lapses not
attracting vigilance angle would, indeed, have to be dealt with appropriately as per the
disciplinary procedure under the service conduct rules.

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Chapter III (Functions/Role of Vigilance)

5.1. Vigilance Head: The Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), being the head of the
organisation, is ultimately responsible for dealing with corruption and malpractices in his
organisation. But in view of his heavy work-load, it is imperative that the Chief Vigilance
Officer (CVO) should discharge a large share of the responsibilities of the head not only in a
routine manner, but also by taking necessary initiative under the guidance of the CMD. CVO
will be assisted by his team (i.e., officials attached to corporate vigilance cell and plant
vigilance cells).

5.2. Category of Vigilance Activity: Role of vigilance cell can be broadly divided into three
parts, as under:

Vigilance

Preventive Punitive Surveillance &


Detection

5.3. Preventive vigilance:

5.3.(a). While the object of punitive vigilance is to detect corruption and punish the corrupt,
the object of preventive vigilance is to prevent corruption. Major causes of corruptions are –
(i) administrative delays; (ii) huge load of work surpassing the capacity of the
organisation/department; (iii) scope for personal discretion in the exercise of powers vested in
different categories of officials; (iv) cumbersome procedures of dealing.

5.3.(b). Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) should undertake the following measures on
preventive vigilance side:

i. To undertake a thorough study of the existing policies, procedure and practices


prevailing in the organisation with a view to modifying those policies, procedure and
practices which provide a scope for corruption, and also to find out causes of delay,
the points at which delay occurs and device suitable steps to minimize delays at
different stages. Being a Govt Company, WBPDCL must have clear-cut laid down

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Policies/Regulations in the matter of Purchase & Procurement, Black-Listing of
vendors, Ash disposal, Recruitment, Employees’ Transfer, Employees’ Service
Regulation, Delegation of Power, etc. Absence of policies/regulations gives a scope
for malpractices and corruption. The important task of the vigilance cell, therefore, is
to ensure that the organisation has policies/manuals on important subjects such as
purchase, contracts, recruitment, etc and that these policies/manuals are updated from
time to time and conform to the guidelines issued by the State Vigilance Commission
and State Government. Where State Vigilance Commission or State Government has
no specific guidelines, Guidelines of the Central Vigilance Commission may be
followed;

ii. To device adequate methods of control over exercise of discretion so as to ensure that
discretionary powers are not exercised arbitrarily but in a transparent and fair manner;

iii. To simplify cumbersome procedures as far as possible;

iv. To identify the areas of operation which are prone to corruption and ensure that the
officers of proven integrity only are posted in those areas;

v. To prepare a list of officers of doubtful integrity - The list would include names of
those officers who, after inquiry or during the course of inquiry, have been found to
be lacking in integrity, such as (a) officer convicted in a Court of Law on the charge
of lack of integrity or for an offence involving Moral turpitude but who has not been
imposed a penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement in view of
exceptional circumstances; (b) awarded departmentally a major penalty on charges of
lack of integrity or gross dereliction of duty in protecting the interest of government
although corrupt motive may not be capable of proof; (c) against whom proceedings
for a major penalty or a court trial is in progress for alleged acts involving lack of
integrity or moral turpitude; and (d) who was prosecuted but acquitted on technical
grounds as there remained a reasonable suspicion about his integrity;

vi. To ensure that the officers appearing on the list of officers of doubtful integrity are
not posted in the identified sensitive/corruption prone areas;

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vii. To ensure periodical rotations of staff;

viii. To maintain a list of influential persons within and outside the plant area who can
influence officials engaged in jobs having financial involvements;

ix. To ensure timely submission of asset statements by the employees and proper
observance of rules relating to acquisition of properties, acceptance of gifts by the
employees;

x. To review whether payments to Contractors/Suppliers are not delayed unnecessarily


and whether payments are being made on “first-come-first-serve” basis or not. The
cut off limit for review is bills worth Rs one lakh and above.

xi. To ensure that proper documentation procedure is maintained in the matters having
substantial financial involvements or otherwise sensitive and documents are preserved
properly;

xii. To facilitate adoption of IT enabled systems like ERP, E-Tender, etc to bring
transparency and fairness in business processes;

xiii. To ensure posting of summary every month of all contracts/purchases worth Rs. 25
lakh or above in the official website of the organisation. The format for posting such
information is as follows :
NIT Item Mode Date of Last date of No. of No. of Work / Name of Value of Schedule date
No. /Nature of publication bid bids bidders Supply Contractor/ contract of completion
of work tender of NIT submission received not order Supplier (Rs.) of work/supply
qualified No. &
after issue
technical date
evaluation

xiv. To ensure all important information that is not classified / secret is made available in
public domain through website;

xv. To create awareness among employees about the ill effects of corruption and
malpractices and about adverse consequence of indulging in corrupt practices.
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5.4. Surveillance and Detection:

i. Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) & his team should conduct regular and surprise
inspections in the sensitive areas in order to detect failures in the working system
which might be due to the existence of corruption or malpractice.

ii. He should also gather intelligence from his own sources in whatever manner he
deems appropriate about the misconduct/malpractices having been committed or
likely to be committed by the employees of the organisation. CVO should also keep
surveillance on employees of doubtful integrity.

iii. Activity of vendors having shady background and the officials dealing with them
should be kept under surveillance.

iv. Vigilance Wing should collect all kinds of Audit reports, Inspection reports, Stock
Verification Report, Tender documents & contract agreement (above a certain value),
Recruitment Notices, etc and detect deviations which might have corruption angle.

5.5. Punitive vigilance:

5.5.(a). The Vigilance Cell has to take following action on the punitive vigilance aspects:

i. To receive complaints from all sources and scrutinize them with a view to finding
out if the allegations involve vigilance angle.

Sources of complaints: Complaint may originate from official/non-official


sources or even ordinary citizens. Information about corruption, malpractice or
misconduct on the part of employees may flow to the Vigilance Cell from any of the
following sources:

(a) Complaints received directly by the organisation from employees of the


organisation or from the Vendors & Suppliers or from the members of
public. (Complaint received verbally from an identifiable source, to be
reduced in writing);
(b) Complaints forwarded by State Vigilance Commission, Anti-Corruption
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Bureau, Department or other official sources;
(c) Departmental Inspection and Inventory Verification reports;
(d) Reports of irregularities in accounts detected in the audit of accounts; e.g.,
tampering with records, over payments, misappropriation of money and
materials etc.;
(e) Irregularities explicit from Audit Reports and internal audit;
(f) Complaints and allegations appearing in the print and electronic media;
(g) Any irregularities detected/observed/identified by Vigilance officers &
any other officers or from any other sources reported to vigilance
department.
ii. To devise and adopt such methods and utilize such sources as are considered
appropriate and fruitful for collecting information about any malpractice and
misconduct among employees.

iii. Steps to be followed by plant level vigilance cell on receipt of complaint:

a) Receiving complaints and recording them chronologically in the


Complaint Register. The complaint register format is as under :
Sl Date of receipt Name and Address of the Complaint if not Brief Subject Action taken
No. of complaint Complainant received directly, Matter of the
Interim Final Action*
name of the office complaint
[in case complaint is Action
from which the
sourced from (c) to (f) of
complaint has
5.5.(a).(i) above, mention
been forwarded
the source]

[* Final action means dropping the case or initiating departmental proceedings or lodging FIR with police]

b) Scrutiny of the Complaint to find out vigilance angle.

c) Drop the case with the approval of Corporate Cell if the allegations are
vague and unverifiable.

d) Preliminary enquiry in case there is a vigilance angle. For preliminary


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enquiry in case of Class I & II officers, permission from Corporate Cell is
required. For Class III & IV employees, no such permission is required.

e) Preliminary enquiry includes physical inspection / interrogation of the


concerned personnel / obtaining statement and collection of documents /
preparation of report.

f) In case vigilance angle is primarily established through preliminary


enquiry, the charge sheet should be drafted and sent to the Corporate
Vigilance Cell along with statement of imputation, list of witnesses and
documents relied upon for further course of action.

g) Complaint Register should record action taken on each of the complaints.

h) Monthly report to be sent to the corporate office within 7th of the


following month showing pending vigilance complaints lying with the
plant in the format referred to above.

iv. Steps to be followed by the corporate cell on receipt of a complaint are almost
similar to that of the plant. Corporate office should also maintain a similar register
to keep record of the complaints received at their end and submit a compiled
report (corporate and plant together) to the CMD within 15th of the following
month.

5.5.(b). Immediately after entry of a complaint in the Complaint Register, the complaint will
be put up to the CVO (in case complaint is received by Corporate Office) or to the Nodal
Officer (in case the complaint is received by Plant). CVO or the Nodal Officer, as the case
may be, will examine it to find out if there is any substance in the complaint to merit an
investigation. If the allegations are found to be vague and unverifiable, the Plant Level Nodal
Officer, with the clearance from CVO, will drop the matter.

5.5.(c). In respect of vague or unverifiable complaints, either received at Corporate Office or


referred from Plants, the CVO will take decision to drop the matter with the approval of the
Disciplinary Authority. However, when such complaint pertains to an employee of class I &

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II, the complaint together with the report of the CVO and the views of the Disciplinary
Authority, will be forwarded to the Vigilance Commission for advice as to whether the
complaint is to be dropped. In respect of Class III & IV employees such advice need not be
sought.

5.5.(d). Anonymous/Pseudonymous Complaints

a. Complaints or allegation received anonymously or pseudonymously should not be


rejected as a matter of course. If there are specific allegations which can be verified,
an investigation should be made to find out if there is a prima facie case in the
complaint.

b. When in doubt, the pseudonymous character of a complaint may be verified by


inquiring from the signatory of the complaint whether it had actually been sent by
him. If he cannot be contacted at the address given in the complaint, or if no reply is
received from him within a reasonable time, it should be presumed that the complaint
is pseudonymous and should accordingly be ignored.

c. Although the anonymous/pseudonymous complaints are not generally pursued, but


the Vigilance Cell is not precluded from taking cognizance of such complaint which
warrants action.

d. If the complaint seemingly from an identifiable source turns out to be pseudonymous


then the Vigilance Cell treating the complaint pseudonymous may act accordingly, as
the case may be.

5.5.(e). If the Nodal Officer of Plant Vigilance Cell finds that the complaint contains a
definite allegation against a Class III or IV employee, he will conduct a preliminary enquiry
either by himself or by any of the officers of his cell and send the report to the CVO with his
comment. In case of Class I/II employee he will obtain prior approval of CVO before
conducting preliminary enquiry.

5.5.(f). Where the complaint, whether referred by plant or received at corporate office,
appears to contain a definite allegation, CVO should conduct a preliminary enquiry either by

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himself or by any officer under his control to find out if there is a prima facie vigilance case.
If nothing adverse is found in the preliminary enquiry, CVO will drop the matter with the
approval of the Disciplinary Authority. In case a prima facie vigilance case is established
through preliminary enquiry, CVO will refer the matter to the Disciplinary authority with his
comment. Disciplinary Authority, thereafter, will refer the matter to the State Vigilance
Commission with a self-contained precis’ and all the relevant documents for investigation
and/or advice as to whether to proceed against the employee departmentally and/or in a Court
of Law. Such consultation with the State Vigilance Commission is mandatory in respect of all
categories of employees in respect of the following cases:-

a. Demand and/or acceptance of illegal gratification.


b. Misappropriation of Government money and property.
c. Breach of trust in respect of public fund.
d. Forgery or falsification of document for getting undue advantage for self or somebody
else.
e. Showing false expenditure of Government money with improper motive.
f. Incurring unnecessary Government expenditure with the motive of giving undue
benefit to others.
g. Possession of assets disproportionate to known sources of income.
h. Drawal of false travelling allowance, daily allowance, house-rent allowance, etc.
i. Private trade, business or employment, speculation and investment, promotion and
management of companies.
j. Non-declaration or suppression of assets or submission of false, incorrect or
misleading assets statements.
k. Omission to report to the Appointing Authority about acquisition of property and
acceptance of gifts.
l. Financial impropriety, lack of supervision, negligence of duty, arbitrary action, etc.,
resulting in loss of Government money or facilitating corruption.
m. Unauthorised raising of subscriptions.
n. Unauthorised lending and borrowing.
o. Unauthorised obtaining of patents.
p. Abuse of power of authority for deriving improper gain for self, relatives, friends, etc.

16
5.5(g). However, further action can be taken without consulting Vigilance Commission if
such action is to be taken without any loss of time. For example, in a case in which the
employee is due to retire soon and it is necessary to issue charge-sheet to him before
retirement, or in a case where the allegations reveal that a prima facie serious criminal
offence has been committed by an employee and FIR to be lodged with local Police
immediately. In the event of instituting departmental proceedings or lodging complaint with
local police authority without consulting the Vigilance Commission, the matter in details
should be brought to the notice of the Vigilance Commission forthwith with the explanation
for not making prior consultation.

5.5.(h). Vigilance Commission may also forward complaints received by them to WBPDCL
for enquiry. On receipt of such complaint, CVO will immediately make an enquiry into such
complaint to verify the allegation, or get it verified by any officer under his control. In case
the enquiry is done by other officer, the report together with relevant records should be
submitted to the CVO. CVO will send the enquiry report conducted by him or by other
officer along with relevant records to the Vigilance Commission through the Disciplinary
Authority. Further course of action will be guided by the advice of the Vigilance
Commission.

5.5(i). If the Commission is of the opinion that a departmental proceeding should be drawn
up against the impugned employee, the Commission will inform the Disciplinary Authority
accordingly and send the list of witnesses and documents prepared by the Vigilance
Commission. The Commission will nominate one of its Commissioners/Deputy
Commissioners for Departmental Enquiries for appointment as the “Inquiry Authority” for
the enquiry and also send the name of a competent police officer attached to the Anti-
Corruption Bureau for appointment as the Presiding Officer for conducting the case in the
enquiry on behalf of the Disciplinary Authority.

5.5.(j). Vigilance Commission may make preliminary enquiry by its own machinery into a
complaint in respect of an employee of the WBPDCL.

5.5(k). The Vigilance Cell (both corporate and plant level) shall render all possible assistance
and shall extend cooperation to the State Vigilance Commission, Anti Corruption Bureau,

17
Law Enforcement Agencies, and other authority conducting investigation relating to
vigilance case concerning the organization.

18
Chapter IV (Preliminary Enquiry)

6.1. “Preliminary Enquiry” is not a precondition for taking departmental action and it is not to
be mistaken for the regular enquiry under the disciplinary rules. It is basically a fact finding
enquiry with an object to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the allegations contained in
the complaint and to collect material available in support of the allegations. There is no hard
and fast rule or strict prescribed procedure for conducting preliminary enquiry. It may be held
ex-parte behind the back of the employee and it is not mandatory to obtain his explanation
unless it is considered necessary for any purpose. The charged employee has no right to be
heard at this stage. During preliminary enquiry evidence, oral and documentary should be
collected. The materials secured during the preliminary enquiry cannot be the basis for taking
action or arriving at a finding on the charge or imposition of a penalty. It only enables the
competent authority to decide further course of action namely to drop investigation or to
proceed to take departmental action depending on the material available. It is a precursor to
Regular Enquiry conducted under disciplinary rules. If preliminary inquiry indicates that
further proceeding is necessary, then the impugned officer should be given an opportunity to
explain informally the allegations against him. However, such opportunity may not be given
in cases in which a decision to institute departmental proceedings or making over the
complaint to the local police is to be taken without loss of time.

6.2. The preliminary enquiry may be made in several ways depending upon the nature of
allegations and the judgment of the Vigilance Officer (CVO or any other officer of Vigilance
Cell or any other officer entrusted by CMD to conduct the preliminary enquiry). For
example:-

i. If the allegations contain information which can be verified from any documents or
files or any other departmental records, the Vigilance Officer should, without loss of
time, secure such records etc., for personal inspection. If any of the papers examined
is found to contain evidence supporting the allegations such papers should be taken
over by him for retention in his personal custody to guard against the possibility of
available evidence being tampered with. If the papers in question are required for any
current action, it may be considered whether the purpose would not be served by
substituting authenticated copies of the relevant portions of the record, the original
being retained by the Vigilance Officer in his custody. If that is not considered
feasible for any reason, the officer requiring the documents or papers in question for

19
current action should be made responsible for their safe custody after retaining
authenticated copies for the purpose of the enquiry.

ii. In case where the alleged facts are likely to be known to any other employees of the
department, the Vigilance Officer should interrogate them orally or ask for their
written statements. The Vigilance Officer should make a full record of the oral
interrogation which the person interrogated should be asked to sign in token of
confirmation. Whenever necessary, any important facts disclosed during the oral
interrogation or in written statements should be verified by documentary or collateral
evidence to make sure of the facts.

iii. In case it is found necessary to make enquiries from the employees of any other
Government department or office, the Vigilance Officer will seek the assistance of the
department concerned for providing facility for interrogating the person or persons
concerned and/or taking their written statements.

iv. In certain types of complaints, particularly those pertaining to works, the Vigilance
Officer will find it helpful to make a site inspection or a surprise check to verify the
facts on the spot and also to take suitable action to ensure that the evidence found
there in support of the allegations is not disturbed.

v. If during the course of investigation it is found that it will be necessary to collect


evidence from non-official persons or to examine any papers or documents in their
possession, further investigation in the matter should be entrusted to the Anti
Corruption Bureau.

vi. If the employee complained against is in charge of stores, equipment, etc., and there is
possibility of his tampering with the records pertaining to such stores or equipment,
the Vigilance Officer may consider whether the employee concerned should be
transferred immediately to other duties and seek the assistance of the Head of the
Department or Office in doing so.

vii. During the course of preliminary enquiry, the employee concerned may be given an
opportunity to say what he/she may have to say about the allegations against him/her

20
to find out if he is in a position to give any satisfactory information or explanation. If
the officer is not allowed to explain his/her conduct the employee concerned is likely
to be proceeded against unjustifiably. It is only proper, therefore, that the
investigating officer tries to obtain the suspect officers’ version of ‘facts’ and why a
regular inquiry should not be held. There is no question of making available to him
any documents at this stage. However, such an opportunity however may not be given
if such action is to be taken without any loss of time. For example, in a case in which
the employee is due to retire soon and it is necessary to issue charge-sheet to him
before retirement, or in a case where the allegations reveal that a prima facie serious
criminal offence has been committed by an employee and FIR to be lodged with local
Police immediately.

viii. While normally the preliminary enquiry will be made by the CVO himself he may
entrust the enquiry to any other officer of the Vigilance Cell considered suitable in the
particular circumstances of the case. It may, for example, be found advisable to
entrust to a technical officer the conduct of the preliminary enquiry if it is likely to
involve examination and appreciation of technical data or documents. CVO may
propose to CMD to entrust an enquiry to an officer of sufficiently higher status if the
employee complained against is of a very senior rank.

6.3. After the preliminary enquiry has been completed, the officer conducting the enquiry
should prepare a self-contained report including the material available to controvert the
defence. The investigation report should contain the explanation of the suspect officer. The
fact that an opportunity as referred to earlier was given to the officer concerned should be
mentioned in the investigation report, even if the officer did not avail of it. The vigilance
organization should also take in their possession all connected documents, as this becomes
very helpful, if later on departmental action has to be taken against the officer.

6.4. The preliminary enquiry should be completed within three months from the date of
receipt of the complaint. When for any special reasons it takes longer than three months, such
reasons should be recorded in writing and to be got approved by CVO if the Enquiry Officer
is below the rank of CVO and by CMD in case the Enquiry Officer is CVO himself or
equivalent to or above the rank of CVO.

21
6.5. The Investigating Officer (through CVO, if CVO himself is not the investigating officer)
will submit his report to the Disciplinary Authority who in turn should forward the report
with his comments along with all relevant documents and papers to the Vigilance
Commission seeking necessary advice regarding further action.

6.6. After examination of the preliminary enquiry report, the Vigilance Commission advises
the following course of actions to the Disciplinary Authority:

A. Dropping the case, if the allegation have not been substantiated,


B. Drawing up Departmental Proceedings, and/or
C. Institution of a criminal case in a Court of Law.

6.7. After receipt of the advice/recommendation of the Vigilance Commission against any
errant Government servant it is the solemn obligation of the Disciplinary Authority to apply
its mind on the recommendation of the Vigilance Commission and to consider all aspects of
the matter before concurring with the recommendation of the Vigilance Commission towards
initiation of departmental proceedings or other action as recommended.

6.8. Where the disciplinary authority after carefully considering the recommendations of the
Vigilance Commission and applying its own mind is unable to accept the recommendations
of the Vigilance Commission, the reasons for non-acceptance of the recommendations should
be communicated to the latter for its further observations, if any, within a fortnight from the
date of receipt of this reference by the Vigilance Commission. Any further observation
received within a fortnight from the date of the 2nd reference by the Commission should be
considered again by the Disciplinary Authority and thereafter a final decision should be
recorded by him. Action taken on the recommendations of the Commission should be
communicated to it by the Disciplinary Authority.

6.9. The decision whether departmental action be initiated against a public servant should be
taken by the Authority competent to award appropriate penalty specified in Regulation No.
49 of the Employees’ Service Regulation, 1990 or Employees’ (Death-Cum-Retirement)
Benefit Regulations-1992 of the organisation. As soon as it is decided by the Authority to
institute disciplinary proceedings against the public servant or public servants concerned, the
complaint should be regarded as having taken the shape of a Vigilance case.

6.10. When a Departmental Proceeding is advised by the State Vigilance Commission, the
Commission drafts the specific charges and, in case of an employee having equivalent rank of

22
an erstwhile gazetted officer, invariably nominates a Commissioner for departmental
enquiries attached to its organisation for holding formal oral enquiry.

6.11. In case of officer below the rank of equivalent erstwhile gazetted officer, Disciplinary
Authority has to nominate the Enquiry Officer except in a limited number of complicated
cases in which the Vigilance Commissioner, in his discretion, nominates a Commissioner for
departmental enquiries for officer below the rank of equivalent erstwhile gazetted officer
also.

6.12. After the charges have been drafted by the Vigilance Commission, these charges along
with a statement of detailed allegations and a list of witnesses and documents are forwarded
to the Disciplinary Authority of the concerned organisation, here WBPDCL. The Disciplinary
Authority examines the charges and other documents and if there be no objection signs the
charges, etc and serves the documents on the employee against whom departmental
proceeding are proposed to be started. The disciplinary authority shall direct the officer to
submit written statement of defence within a period of time specified in its order.

23
Chapter V (Disciplinary Proceedings Related)

7.1. Relevant Regulations of the Organisation: Procedure for disciplinary cases,


punishment, appeal thereof and suspension & subsequent reinstatements are dealt with in
Employees’ Service Regulations (ESR), 1990 and Employees’ (Death-Cum-Retirement
Benefit) Regulations (DCRB), 1992 of the organisation and the same are reproduced below:

7.2. Punishment:

Regulation 49 of ESR : Without prejudice to the provisions of any law for the time being in
force, an employee who is found to be guilty of any act of misconduct or of any breach of
discipline, is liable to punishment according the gravity of the offence. The punishment will
not only depend on the findings in the case under review but also on his past record. The
imposition of penalties may be ordered by any officer of the Corporation empowered in this
behalf.

For good and sufficient reasons, the following punishments may be formulated to an
employee of the Corporation:-

I. Censure:
II. Withholding of increment or promotion:
III. A period of suspension followed by reinstatement for which the punishing authority
does not grant full pay to an employee:
IV. Reduction to a lower post or to a lower time scale of pay or to a lower stage in his
own time scale of pay:
V. Recovery from pay of any sum as a measure of punishment forming part of any
pecuniary loss caused to the Corporation by negligence or otherwise:
VI. Compulsory retirement before the normal age of superannuation:
VII. Removal from service which does not debar future employment:
VIII. Dismissal from service which ordinarily debars future employment.

Explanation:

If an employee because of unsatisfactory record and unfavourable confidential reports is not


selected for promotion to higher post to which recruitment is made on the basis of selection
and some other employee junior to him is selected in preference, such action will not amount
to the withholding of promotion for the purpose of this regulation.

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Regulation No. 12 A of DCRB :

(i) The pension of an Officer may be withheld in whole or in part under an order of the
Corporation passed not later than three years after the date of retirement to meet any sum due
under the liability incurred by such Officer to the Corporation.

(iii) Right of the Corporation to withhold pension in certain cases :

The Corporation reserves to itself the right of withholding or withdrawing the pension or any
part of it whether permanently or for specified period and the right of ordering the recovery
from a pension of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to the Corporation, if the
pensioner is found in a departmental or judicial proceeding to have been guilty of grave
misconduct or negligence during the period of his service including service rendered on
reemployment after the retirement.

Provided that-

(a) Such departmental proceeding if instituted while the Officer was in service whether
before his retirement or during his reemployment shall after the final retirement of the Officer
be deemed to be a proceeding under this Regulation and shall be continued and concluded by
the authority by which it was commenced in the same manner as the Officer had continued in
service;

(b) Such departmental proceedings, if not instituted while the officer was in service before his
retirement or during his re-employment:

(i) shall not be instituted save with the sanction of the Corporation.

(ii) shall not be in respect of any event which took place more than four years before
such institution; and

(iii) shall be conducted by such authority and in such place as the Corporation, may
direct and in accordance with the procedure applicable to the departmental
proceedings In which an order of dismissal from service could be made in relation to
the Officer during his service;

(c) No such judicial proceeding, if not instituted while the Officer was in service whether
before his retirement of during his reemployment shall be instituted in respect of the cause of

25
action which across or an event which took place more than four years before such
institution.

EXPLANATION:

For the purpose of this Regulation :

(a) A departmental proceeding shall be deemed to have been instituted on the date on which
the statement of charges is issued to the Officer or pensioner or if the officer is placed under
suspension from an earlier date, of such date; and

(b) A judicial proceeding shall be deemed to have been instituted;

(i) In the case of criminal proceeding on the date on which the complaint or report of
Police Officer, on which the Magistrate takes cognizance is made; and

(ii) In the case of a civil proceeding on the date on which the plaint is presented or, as
the case may be, an application is made to a Civil Court.

(iii) Where any departmental or judicial proceeding is instituted under Sub-regulation


(b) of Regulation-12A. or where a departmental proceeding is continued under Clause
(a) of the proviso thereto against an Officer who has retired on attaining the age of
compulsory retirement or otherwise, he shall be paid during the period commencing
from the date of his retirement to the date on which, upon conclusion of such
proceeding, final orders are passed, a provisional pension not exceeding the maximum
pension which would have been admissible on the basis of his qualifying service up to
the data of his retirement or if he was under suspension on the date of retirement up to
the date immediately preceding the date on which he was placed under suspension;
but no gratuity or death-cum-retirement gratuity shall be paid to him until the
conclusion on such proceeding and the issue of final orders thereon.

(iv) Payment of provisional pension made under Clause (iii) shall be adjusted against
the final retirement benefits sanctioned to such Officer upon conclusion of the
aforesaid proceeding.

No recovery shall be made where the pension finally sanctioned is less than the
provisional sanction or the pension is reduced or withheld either permanently or for
specified period.

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Note: The grant of pension under this Regulation shall not prejudice the operation of
Regulation 12 when final pension is sanctioned upon conclusion of the proceeding.

7.3. Procedure of Departmental Proceedings:


Regulation 50 of ESR : The following procedure shall be generally followed in disciplinary
cases before passing orders imposing any of the prescribed penalties:-
I) Charges will be framed against the delinquent employee with or without suspension
ordinarily within a period of 6 months from the date of the cause of action giving to the
notice of the competent authority. When for any special reason it takes longer than 6 months
to frame the charges, such reasons should be recorded in writing. The competent authority
should always endeavour to put off avoidable details both in framing the charges and in
concluding the disciplinary proceedings.

The charges should include a statement of imputation of misconduct or misbehaviour in


support of each article of the charges. The same should also contain a statement of relevant
facts including any admission or conventions made by the employee, a list of documents of
each and a list of witnesses by him, the articles of charges are proposed to substantiate. The
disciplinary authority then deliver or cause to be delivered to the employee connected of the
articles of charges alongwith statement of imputation and the list of the relevant documents
and witnesses, calling upon the employee to make within a specified date, his written
statement of submission. He should also be delivered with the same and told that in case he
denies of any of the charges, he should mention the documents by which and witnesses by
whom he proposes to sustain his ill and also whether he likes to be heard in person.

II) After receiving a written statement of the employee, the competent authority shall
consider the same. If the charges or any of them are found prima facie established, it shall
appoint an Enquiring Officer or a Committee of Enquiry to conduct the enquiry and shall also
appoint a Presenting Officer. While the Presenting Officer shall be appointed from amongst
the employees of the Corporation to enquire into the case, the enquiring Officer or the
Committee may at the discretion of the Corporation, be appointed either from amongst the
employees of the Corporation of from outside. The delinquent employee should be afforded
of reasonable opportunity to attend the enquiry, explain his conduct, defend himself, cross-
examine witnesses, if he so chooses and adduce evidence in his own defence.

However, where the nature of charge is of theft, fraud and dishonesty in nature, the
Corporation shall be at liberty to avail assistance from the State Vigilance Commission,

27
Government of West Bengal and the said Commission shall be approached to appoint both
Enquiry Officer and Presenting Officer on their roll.

III) For the purpose of his defence, the delinquent employee may be permitted to take the
help of any other employee of the Corporation to assist him if he so desires.

IV) The Enquiry Officer/Enquiry Committee shall then prepare a memorandum of evidence
adduced and exhibit presented and submit a report to the competent authority giving his/their
findings on the charges framed against the delinquent employee.

V) The competent authority shall on receipt of the report duly consider the same and record
either acceptance of the findings of the Enquiry Officer/enquiry Committee or its
disagreement with those, in which case the reasons for disagreement should be mentioned. In
case the competent authority is of the opinion that a punishment should be inflicted on the
employee, it shall specify the nature of punishment proposed and indicate the same to the
employee asking him to show cause within a specified date why the said punishment should
not be inflicted upon him. No such notice to the employee will, however, be necessary when
the proposed punishment is ‘censure’. If any reply is not received from the employee within
a specified date or the reply received from him does not, in the opinion of the competent
authority, call in any review of punishment proposed, an order shall be issued inflicting the
punishment of the employee and the same shall be recorded in the employee’s Service
Book/Record.

Now lawyer or outside agent shall be allowed to represent or defend the delinquent employee
during this enquiry.

7.4. Suspension :
Regulation 51 of ESR : An employee charged with any act of grave misconduct or serious
breach of discipline, is liable to be suspended by the competent authority, pending
investigation.

An employee placed under suspension, shall be entitled to the payment of subsistence


allowance in accordance with the provision of the West Bengal Payment of Subsistence
Allowance Act, 1969.

7.5. Reinstatement :

Regulation 52 of ESR : When the suspension of an employee is hold to have been


unjustifiable, or not wholly justifiable or when an employee of the Corporation who has been
28
dismissed, removed or suspended is reinstated, the punishing authority may grant to him for
the period of his absence from duty:

I) If he is honourably acquitted, the full pay to which he would have been entitled if he had
not been dismissed, removed or suspended and, any allowance of which he was in receipt
prior to his dismissal, removal or suspension or.

II) If otherwise, such proportion of such pay and allowances as the punishing authority may
prescribe.

In a case falling under clause (I), the period of absence from duty will be treated as period
spent on duty. In a case falling under clause (II), the period may be treated as duty or leave,
but if will not be so treated unless the punishing authority so directs. Posts vacated by
dismissed employees, may be filled up substantively subject to the condition that the
arrangement thus made will be reversed if the dismissed employee is reinstated in service.

7.6. Appeal :

Regulation 54 of ESR: Every employee of the Corporation shall have the right to appeal
against an order of punishment or penalty passed against him to the Standing Committees of
the Corporation referred to in regulation 55 except where the order is passed by the
Corporation itself.

No appeal under this regulation shall be entertained unless the same is preferred within a
period of 45 days from the date on which a copy of the order appealed against is delivered to
the appellant.

Provided that the appellate authority, i.e. the Standing Committee may entertain the appeal
after the expiry of the said period if it is satisfied that the appellant has sufficient cause for
not preferring the appeal in time.

Standing appellate committee:


Regulation 55 of ESR : Appeals against orders of punishment shall be dealt with by 2
Standing Appellate Committees of the Corporation, the jurisdiction and composition of the
Committees being as follows :-

Standing appellate committee I : All appeals from the orders aforesaid of the Executive
Directors, General Managers, Company Secretary, Deputy General Managers or of an Officer

29
of corresponding rank, shall be dealt with by the Standing Committee 1 consisting of the
Managing Director and 2 Directors of the Corporation to be nominated by the Managing
Director. The Managing Director of the Corporation will preside over the Committee.

Standing appellate committee II: All appeals from the orders aforesaid of the Senior
Managers, Managers or of an Officer of corresponding rank shall be dealt with by the
Standing Appellate Committee II consisting of Executive Director (Finance), Executive
Director (Personnel) and any other Officer of the Corporation to be nominated by the
Managing Director of the Corporation. The Executive Director (Finance) will preside over
the Committee.

The decision of the Standing Appellate Committee I & Standing Appellate Committee II
shall ordinarily be regarded as final. But if a representation or a memorial is preferred and is
also recommended by the Standing Appellate Committee concerned, it shall be considered
and decided by the Corporation.

Note : The Period of limitation laid down in Regulation 54 and the condition subject to which
delay in submission of an appeal may be condoned, shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the
representation or memorial submitted under this Regulation.

7.7. Consultation with State Vigilance Commission: Notwithstanding anything contained


in Regulation 50, 51, 52, 54 & 55 of ESR or Regulation 12A of DCRB, in case of
disciplinary proceedings that are initiated in consultation with or under intimation to the State
Vigilance Commission, the penalty shall not be imposed until Vigilance Commission is
consulted.

Where the disciplinary authority after carefully consideration and applying its own mind is
unable to accept the penalty recommended by the Vigilance Commission, the reasons for
non-acceptance of the recommendations should be communicated to the latter for its further
observations, if any, within a fortnight from the date of receipt of this reference by the
Vigilance Commission. Any further observation received within a fortnight from the date of
the 2nd reference by the Commission should be considered again by the Disciplinary
Authority and thereafter a final decision should be recorded by him. Action taken on the
recommendations of the Commission should be communicated to it by the Disciplinary
Authority.

30
7.8. Institution of Criminal Case: In case the disciplinary authority, either on the basis of
the recommendation of the vigilance commission or on his motion decides to institute
criminal case in the court of law against an employee, FIR should be lodged immediately
with the local police authority either by himself or by an officer duly authorised by him so to
do. Assistance of CVO should be taken for drafting and lodging of the FIR.

7.9. Consultation with CVO: Disciplinary Authority/Appellate authority, while taking any
decision regarding vigilance matter, be it initiation of Disciplinary Proceedings or imposition
of penalty/revision of penalty or lodging FIR, should consult CVO and consider his advice
with due application of mind. In case of any disagreement, if the Disciplinary Authority is not
the CMD, the matter shall be brought to the notice of the CMD.

CVO should keep track of all disciplinary proceedings and criminal cases and take all
necessary steps for timely conclusion of the proceedings/criminal cases. Separate Register
should be maintained for disciplinary proceedings and criminal cases.

7.10. Advice of State Vigilance Commission not to be referred: The role of the State
Vigilance Commission is advisory in nature. The advice/recommendation should not be
referred in the Charge-sheet or in any notice/order related to Disciplinary proceedings
including the order of penalty. Neither it should be mentioned in the FIR lodged against any
employee nor it be referred to in any court case arising out of any departmental action against
any employee.

7.11. Speedy disposal of disciplinary cases: All effort should be given to complete
Disciplinary proceedings within 180 days from the date of service of charge-sheet. If the
proceedings cannot be completed within that time, Disciplinary Authority can extend the time
limit but he should pass reasoned order explaining the delay on every occasion he allows
such time extension. CVO should take all necessary measures for speedy disposal of
vigilance cases. He should time to time review the status of pending departmental
proceedings, criminal investigation and court cases relating to vigilance matter and submit
report to the CMD on quarterly basis.

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Chapter VI (Vigilance Clearance)

8.1. Withholding Vigilance Clearance: Issuance of vigilance Clearance is one of the


routine functions of the vigilance cell of an organisation. Vigilance Clearance in respect of an
employee shall be withheld by the concerned Vigilance Cell if:

(i) The concerned employee is under suspension; or

(ii) The concerned employee has been issued with the charge sheet and disciplinary
proceedings is pending; or

(iii) Prosecution for criminal charge is pending against the concerned employee.

(iv) The concerned employee has not submitted asset declaration for the period for which
the last date of submission of Declaration of Asset expired.

8.2. When Vigilance Clearance Required? : Circumstances in which Vigilance Clearance


is required and the authority to issue such clearance is shown in the following table:

Sl no Circumstances Authority

1 Confirmation/Clearance of probation period of an employee (a) CVO in respect of all employees


2 Promotion posted at Corporate Office and all Class
I employees posted at Plants or any
location other than Corporate Office
(b) Nodal Officer, Plant Vigilance Cell
in respect of all Class II, Class III &
Class IV employees posted at Plant.
3 Resignation/Voluntary Retirement/ Retirement on CVO
Superannuation
4 Deputation, Foreign Studies, Foreign Training, Applying for CVO
appointment/assignment outside the Organization

5 Applying for Passport CVO

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Chapter VII (Miscellaneous)

9. Safeguard to Whistle Blower against victimization.

In accordance with the provision of Section 177 of the Companies Act, the organisation has
already framed a “Vigil Mechanism Policy” in line with “Whistle Blowers Protection Act
2011” and the same was placed in the 171st Board meeting held on 28.11.2015.

To maintain the spirit & essence of the “ Whistle Blowers Protection Act 2011”, the identity
of the complainant of the Whistle Blower ( any person / employee) relating to disclosure on
any allegation of corruption or wilful misuse of power or wilful misuse of discretion against
any employee, will not be revealed in contravention to the provisions of the above referred
Act.

It will be ensured that no person/ employee who has made such disclosure is victimised by
initiation of any proceedings or otherwise merely on the ground that such person / employee (
complainant or Whistle blower ) has made a disclosure as stated above or rendered assistance
in inquiry relating thereto.

10.Vigilance Awareness

The Vigilance cells shall take every possible steps towards generating awareness about
vigilance activities and administration among the employees and their wards by:

a) observing Vigilance Awareness Week (i.e., Week beginning from 31st October),
b) organize competition on essay/ debate/ lectures, slogan/ drawing among the students
of the schools at different Power Plants and to distribute prizes,
c) organize workshops and seminars on vigilance administration,
d) display banners, posters etc., at prime locations in their offices and at places having
public interface,
e) any other appropriate awareness generation activities may be adopted which would
promote probity and integrity in governance and reduce the scope for discretion and
eliminate corruption.

10. Responsibility of other Officials: Officials of Vigilance Cells are required to call for or
examine various reports, documents, files from any department of the organisations for the
purpose of vigilance related enquiries and other purposes. They are also supposed to make
routine/surprise inspections of stores, work-site, etc. Even they may require to interrogate
any employees of the organisation for vigilance related matters. It is the responsibility of all
employees of the organisation, especially the Head of the Departments to extend full
cooperation with the vigilance officials as and when required.

33
11. Relevant Acts / Rules & Regulations

Vigilance officials must enlarge their knowledge base to understand and refer following
relevant Acts, Rules and Regulations:

A) Employees’ Service Regulations, 1990 of WBPDCL.


B) Employees’ (Death-Cum-Retirement) Benefit Regulations-1992 of WBPDCL.
C) Delegation of Power framed by WBPDCL.
D) Relevant provisions of Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure & Evidence Act
E) The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
F) Guidelines issued by State Vigilance Commission as well as Central Vigilance
Commission from time to time.
G) All other Acts/Rules/Regulations relating to Power & Coal Mine Sector.
H) Policies, manuals of the WBPDCL.

12. Conclusion

In a nutshell, the objective of the vigilance administration is to ensure that all transactions are
carried out following proper systems and procedures and the scope of
malpractices/misconducts and misuse of funds are minimised. Thus the role of the Vigilance
Cell is complimentary and not contradictory to the corporate objectives to achieve the
planned production with optimum utilization of resources to ensure profitability, productivity
and quality within laid down time and cost. Hence, vigilance administration is possible only
if system improvements are made to prevent the possibility of corruption and promote and
encourage a culture of honesty.

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