Bhubaneswar, Jan. 3: Even as political parties went for chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s jugular on the mining scam, the state cabinet today gave its nod to the creation of Lokayukta on the lines of the Lok Pal Bill passed by Parliament recently.

A bill to create the post of Lokayukta will be brought in the Assembly “within a month’s time,” Patnaik said.

The Lokpal Bill, which received the President's assent on Wednesday last, aims to provide for the creation of anti-graft ombudsman to investigate corruption charges against public functionaries including Prime Minister, ministers and MPs. It also makes it incumbent upon states to appoint Lokayuktas and frame relevant laws within a year.

The chief minister and his council of ministers will come under the purview of the proposed state Lokayukta Act.

“In view of our government’s commitment and to bring transparency in public life, the state government will get this legislation enacted within a period of one month, even though the central act provides for a window period of one year for implementation,” chief minister Naveen Patnaik said.

Although the details of the proposed legislation is yet to be worked out by the law department, official sources said that it would be more or less on the lines of the central legislation. It will cover the elected representatives, as well as government officials.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Union cabinet deciding to refer the Justice M.B. Shah Commission report, which has severely indicted both the state and central governments and recommended a CBI probe into the mining scam in the state, to a committee of secretaries.

Stating that the Odisha is a pioneer in the country to curb corruption, Naveen said: “The state government has always taken tough, effective and exemplary steps in tackling corruption, improving transparency and delivery of public series.”

Though a number of scams surfaced in Odisha during the last five years, the state government maintained that it had taken a number of steps to curb corruption. These include laws to set up special courts with provisions to confiscate property of corrupt public servants within a time bound manner.

With the coming of the Lokayukta, the existing Lok Pal post would come to an end. The existing Lok Pal post has been lying vacant since January 23 last after Lok Pal Justice Prasanna Kumar Patra passed away on January 22.

The Lok Pal hears cases against police officials ranked below deputy superintendent of police. BJP state unit president K.V. Singh Deo said: “The state government had earlier announced to form a Lokayukta. Even though one year had passed, nothing has come about. The government is known to make such announcements without being serious about them.”

In the absence of a Lok Pal in the state, the number of complaints against people in high positions has gone down during the last few months, while 1,500 cases are waiting to be heard.