These are some of the suggestions and observations made by Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal in a detailed note he has sent to senior bureaucrats eliciting their views on how to tackle corruption.

His 23-point questionnaire to all Secretaries to the Government of India, 600 Vigilance Officers and 245 public sector undertakings, Vittal says, is his bid to ``evolve an overall strategy which could be effective in ensuring that the objectives behind the CVC Ordinance are realised.''

Vittal has asked for suggestions to checkcorruption and keep the government's engine running. Measures to check corruption have also resulted in checking economic development, he says. For instance, even though funds are available, many middle-level managers are too scared of the CBI ``especially after the urea scam to take any decisions.'' Vittal says he wants ideas for improving the situation ``without giving carte blanche

to corrupt officials.''

Speaking to The Indian Express, Vittal said he intended ``promulgating'' a chapter in the vigilance manual spelling out the levels of responsibility in financial sector such as banks where the ``cutting edge is shying from taking any decision because of the risk of vigilance inquiry.''

The questionnaire suggests having the ``pictures of corrupt prominently displayed in each organisation's office'' to build public opinion against the corrupt as ``public memory is short and the corrupt continue to flourish.''

The CVC has also sought suggestions on the feasibility of evolving a code ofconduct in various organisations along the lines of the code of conduct recommended by the committee on the review of guidelines issued to the PSUs. Interestingly, though the CVC Ordinance has spelt out the role of the CVC, the questionnaire has also asked for opinion on the ``role of CVC'' and ``how the CVC's powers can be used to prevent corruption'' besides ways and means for ``effective supervision over the CBI.''

Apart from being a mix of innovative and the practical, CVC has also relied on scientific jargon and parallels while mooting ideas to tackle corruption. ``In mechanical engineering, we talk about preventive, predictive and breakdown maintenance. Can we use more of the preventive and predictive aspects to check corruption?'' asks the CVC.