'Corruption has reached higher levels of government'

New Delhi, Dec 30 : Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) Pratyush Sinha has admitted that corruption has now reached the "higher levels" of government and in high-profile cases there are delays in responding to various queries of the commission.

"If a senior official is involved, there is definitely a hesitation on the part of various government agencies to move quickly. So there are delays, we have to make extra effort to get all information which is required for a thorough enquiry," said the country's top anti-corruption watchdog.

Sinha also said the nature of corruption has changed and reached the top in government.

"Earlier, we used to see decentralized corruption, which means corruption at lower levels. Today, corruption is known more in cases of major public procurements and dispensation of various services at a higher level," Sinha told CNN-IBN news channel in an interview.

"Powerful ministries like petroleum, civil aviation, power are now dealing directly with big corporate houses. This is a new trend in India," said the official.

Citing the Ruchika Girhotra case in which a former Haryana director general of police is a main accused, Sinha said "any abuse of personal authority must be prevented at any cost."

"This (Ruchika case) is a very bad example of what somebody can do with the system and get away. Unfortunately, we have the rules and regulations, but they are not strictly enforced. Even today, there are rules in place and if government is sincere in enforcing, then such events would not take place," said the official.