Only 7% IAS officers filed property returns

http://www.sunday-guardian.com/news/only-7-ias-officers-filed-property-returns

Only 7% IAS officers filed property returns

Out of the serving 4,619 officers, only 311 IAS officers have filed the returns.
NAVTAN KUMAR New Delhi | 25th Oct 2014


DoPT's IPR rules are listed on its website.

everal Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers are reluctant to
file annual property returns, a mandatory obligation under the Lokpal
and Lokayukta Act.

According to an RTI reply, the Department of Personnel and Training
(DoPT) has said that only "311 IAS officers have filed online property
returns in the prescribed format as mentioned in the Lokpal and
Lokayukta Act".

Though the sanctioned strength of the IAS is 6,270, the total number
of serving IAS officers in the country is 4,619, as per information
provided by the DoPT. That means only about 7% of them have filed
their returns.

In July, the DoPT under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances
and Pensions, had issued a notification that under the Lokpal and
Lokayuktas Act, every public servant must every year file a
declaration, information and annual returns of his assets and
liabilities as of 31 March on or before 31 July. However, for the
current year, the last date of filing such returns was postponed to 15
September.

The government had introduced the facility of filing the returns
online, for which an application named Property Related Information
System (PRISM) has been designed.

"If IAS officers themselves do not follow the government's directives,
how can they expect others to do so?" asked Sanjay Sharma, the
Lucknow-based RTI activist who filed the query.

"Corruption is another aspect of this issue. The fact that they are
reluctant to share information about their property hints at possible
corruption. Our Prime Minister's USP is good governance. If IAS
officers conceal information about their property, how can Narendra
Modi's vision of providing good and efficient governance be realised?"
Sharma asked.