ZSI observes Vigilance Awareness Week

Port Blair Oct 30: Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Port Blair organized a day long workshop to observe Vigilance Awareness Week 2019,today. The theme of the workshop was “Integrity – A Way of Life”. The aim of the workshop was to educate the public at large about the corruption related practices and also educating them how to report about it. About 80 students from the Andaman Law College and Pondicherry University participated in the workshop besides research scholars of ZSI. The Workshop was inaugurated by Mr.Tarun Coomar, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Principal Secretary (Environment & Forests), A& N Islands. Commander HimanshuKalra, Station Flight Safety Officer (SFSO), INS Utkrosh, Indian Navy,Mr. Anant Mittal, IPS, Superintendent of Police (Traffic/Security), Andaman and Nicobar Police& Prof. (Dr.). M.S. Soundarapandian, Principal, Andaman Law College were the Guests of the honour in the programme. The inaugural session began with the invocation and lightening the Lamp by the Chief Guest and Guests of Honor. Dr. C. Sivaperuman, Officer-in-Charge, Andaman & Nicobar Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Port Blair welcomed the Chief Guest and Guests of honour. He also briefed about importance of the observance of the Vigilance Awareness Week and genesis of the Central Vigilance Commission, Government of India during his welcome address. Dr. Soundara Pandian, Principal, Andaman Law College, Port Blair, in his felicitation address touched upon the importance of the observance of the Vigilance Awareness Week. “Corruption is a global phenomenon and is found almost in every society in one or the other form since time immemorial. An act of bribery, an act of public dishonesty, use of public office for private gain, misuse of authority for personal gain are the different forms of corruption. Corruption by the public authorities, corporate corruption, political corruption, judicial corruption are the different categories of corruption seen everywhere”, he said.He also congratulated ZSI for initiating the steps for observance of the Vigilance Awareness Week. Commander Himanshu Kalra, Station Flight Safety Officer (SFSO), INS Utkrosh, Indian Navy in his felicitation address spoke about good governance practices, and also opined that ‘vigilance’ not be taken as ‘negative connotation’ rather to be understood in a positive sense, which brings efficiency in the system.“The vigilance awareness week introduced the practice of observing the week starting from the birthday of Sardar Vallabhai Patel as the Vigilance Awareness Week. This was an effort at making the employees of the Government of India organizations aware of the dangers and harm caused by corruption, which is anti-poor, anti-developmental and anti-national. The basic motto of this week is to create a corruption free society”, he said.Mr. Anant Mital, IPS, Superintendent of Police (Traffic/Security), Andaman and Nicobar Police in his felicitation address explained to audience about the origin of Central Vigilance Commission and observance of the Vigilance Awareness Week. He also highlighted the aim of the awareness programme, which was mainly intended to spread awareness about the corruption free India. Mr. Tarun Coomar, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Principal Secretary (E&F), Andaman and Nicobar Islands in his inaugural address congratulated the ZSI team for organizing an important event on the occasion of Vigilance Awareness Week 2019. He emphasized upon various components related to preventive vigilance, punitive actions and surveillance measures. He has briefed about the Vigilance alertness. He also highlighted about the history of corruption in India, which he said was not a new phenomenon in India. “It has been prevalent in society since ancient times. Regulation of corruption in some form or another has a long history in India”, he said. He also touched about the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and appealed to the participant for the corruption free India. “To achieve transparency is required in all factions of the society. Transparency ensures that public officials, civil servants, managers, board members and business people act visibly and understandably and report on their activities”, he added. The inaugural session was followed by the technical session during which two Professors from Andaman Law College delivered a talk on the theme of the day.