The Bihar Government is sharpening its anti-corruption drive against its officials under its zero tolerance policy and ground is being prepared to take on such Government servants sternly from the new year. “The government wants to accelerate action against the officials caught in corruption cases without unnecessary delay,” said a senior official referring to a circular sent to all departmental secretaries by Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh recently.
The State had implemented Bihar Special Courts Act, 2009 to take on government servants caught in corruption and graft cases and the legislation has provision to confiscate ill-gotten properties of such officials. At least two palatial houses, one of them belonging to an IAS officer SS Verma, were confiscated and schools for the children of downtrodden sections of the society had been opened there.
The Chief Secretary in his letter has warned strong action against the official whose laxity would be detected in giving sanction for the prosecution of the officials involved in corruption cases. The letter pointed out that the Vigilance department was regularly catching the officials red handed and also detecting their disproportionate assets and booking them but inordinate delay in sanction of their prosecution was delaying action against them. A formal proposal is mandatory from the departments they belong to for their prosecution. The proposals for the prosecution are sent to the Home department which in turn forward them to the law department.
There are many instances when the lack of formal official sanction for prosecution resulted into delay in starting legal action against the officials against whom cases had been filed by the Vigilance department. Many such officials even retired from the service but case could not be initiated against them. The Chief Secretary in his letter also recalled that similar instruction had been issued earlier too but were not taken seriously.
“The laxity on your part in according sanction for the prosecution will not be tolerated and action may be taken against the officials found guilty of failing to fulfill their responsibility,” the letter sent last week said. Anti corruption drive had been a favourite subject of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Bihar Special Courts Act was his brainchild. In 2010 Assembly election, anti corruption drive was his chief agenda.
Nitish had made it clear that the basic objective of the State’s anti-graft legislation was to instill a sense of fear in the minds of corrupt public servants. “I think the provision for the confiscation of the assets of the accused will act as a deterrent among the public servants indulging in unscrupulous practices to earn wealth. When they see that their property earned through corrupt practices is ultimately seized by the government, they will realize the futility of amassing wealth,” the CM explained.