From Our Correspondents Maharashtra Shackled Ombudsman

WHEN, in 1971, the Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta Act came into being, the Maharashtra gov-ernment had claimed that it was the first state government in the country to take concrete steps to root out cor-ruption. The offices of the Lokayukta and the Upa-Lokayukta came into be-ing on October 25, 1972. S P Kotwal, the present incumbent, was appointed the first Lokayukta on that date. How-ever, the Upa-Lokayukta, L M Nad-karni, was not appointed till October 1, 1973 or almost a year later. The Lokayukta submitted his first report on November 17, 1973, within a month of the completion of his first year in the office. This report was made pub-