Reiterating zero tolerance towards corruption the chief secretary Sudhansh Pant directed department of personnel and other related departments to fast track prosecution approvals sought by Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in graft cases.
Addressing the periodic meeting of head of departments, Pant said that the approval for prosecution should be given on priority basis.
There are a large number of cases where ACB has trapped the officer but waiting to get the nod from departments for further actions. These accused include IAS, IPS RAS, RPS and officers of various cadres and staff members.
“The central government has given protection sanction for IAS Niraj K Pawan and IPS Manish Agrawal. But nothing has happened since February 2024 when the sanction was given. This is story of all high profile graft cases which die its own death,” said a senior IAS officer.
Niraj K Pawan, who was booked for alleged irregularities in appointments under National Mental Health Programme, has managed to get a stay from High Court on any legal proceeding in the case.
Pawan has also been accused in two separate cases. He was arrested by ACB for taking bribe in the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) when he was posted as additonal mission director. Later, when Pawan was reinstated and posted as chairman of Rajasthan Skill and Livelihood Development Corporation (RSLDC), he was again booked by ACB for demanding bribe in clearing a bill of ₹ 1.5 crore.
IPS Manish Agrawal was arrested by ACB for demanding bribe from a road construction company in Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project when he was posted as Dausa SP.
HoDs instructed to review and monitor
The chief secretary Sudhansh Pant advised all senior officers and head of departments to review and monitor the progress of work. He told them to finish work in a time bound manner to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
The chief secretary advised secretaries and HoDs to stay in government accommodations on tours and organise workshops and training programmes in government conference halls .
No bouquets for senior officers
The chief secretary Sudhansh Pant urged officers discontinue the practice of presenting bouquets to senior of officers in government meetings as part of administrative reforms. He appreciated the implementation of ban on single use of plastic and adopting use of glass bottles in government departments and offices. Pant directed officers to bring down this practice to tehsil and panchayat levels.
Sudhansh Pant was visibly happy with the progress in reduction of file disposal time. He said that there is vast improvement in file disposal. In just couple of months, pendency of e-file has gone down by 85% and file disposal time has reduced by 50%.
Automated system for transparency in revenue work
Sudhansh Pant said that there is a need to bring complete transparency in land conversion, registration and other revenue works. The revenue department should use latest softwares automated system to ensure transparency. He advised senior offices to monitor and review periodically at various levels to ensure efficiency in case disposal. Dinesh Kumar is serving as principal secretary revenue.
Guidelines for third party inspection
The chief secretary has directed finance department to come up with guidelines for third party inspection of construction works being carried out in the state. He said that the guidelines will ensure the quality of construction work and will bound contractors to come out with quality construction abiding the norms.
Pant also instructed officers for ensuring wide scale plantation, water conservation and water harvesting in the state.
Prakash Bhandari is a veteran journalist with over 50 years of experience. He has worked with The Times of India for 30 years and contributed to leading publications as well as international news agency AFP.
