whereby bureaucrats would be required to file details of their movable assets (bank account, shares, investment etc.) along with immovable assets.

Landmark Decision:- whereby bureaucrats would be required to file details of their movable assets (bank account, shares, investment etc.) along with immovable assets.

Government of India has taken a landmark decision whereby bureaucrats would be required to file details of their movable assets (bank account, shares, investment etc.) along with immovable assets. As per a news item that appeared in the Indian Express, Delhi edition, on 9th January, 2012, this decision is to be applicable from the current year.

This decision marks the culmination of the campaign launched by IRI wherein several letters had been addressed to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary since 2007 and in November 2009 some serving members of IRI belonging to the All India Services had taken the historic step to furnish details of their movable and immovable assets on the proforma suggested by IRI to the Cabinet Secretary and also post it on the web site in the public domain. Since then, under orders of the Chief Information Commissioner, now Government has come around to placing details of immovable property returns of All India Service Officers on the web site.

Background

Filing of Property Returns & its scrutiny

IRI noted in its deliberations during 2006-07 that there was an existing system of filing of property returns for public servants including MPs and MLAs. All MPs and MLAs were required to file their property returns every year to the Speaker but hardly ten percent of legislators complied with the aforesaid provision. There was no provision for penal action against defaulters.

The Election Commission of India directive to make all candidates file their property returns at the time of filing nominations and its posting on web site is not followed by any further investigation by any arm of Government. There is no penalty for filing incorrect or incomplete information in the affidavit. Likewise, All India Service Officers are required to file Annual Property returns but this pertains only to immovable property. Investments in shares/bonds/debentures, fixed deposits were not covered in the Annual Property Returns. There was also no system of public disclosure of property returns or to check if public servants were flouting AIS Conduct Rules. Income Tax department is concerned only with tax evasion and not whether public servant is holding property disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Against this backdrop, IRI had written to the Cabinet Secretary and the Chairman of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission that the system of filing property returns by officers of All India Services and their scrutiny should be suitably amended to include, inter alia, the following:

· Annual filing of returns of all assets (both movable and immovable)

· Form for filing property return could be similar to the one prescribed by the Election Commission for candidates with certain changes (draft form attached)

· Compulsory scrutiny of property returns by the Vigilance Officer in each Ministry / Department

· In case substantial changes are noticed by the Vigilance Officer, a copy of the property return could be forwarded to the Income Tax Department for further scrutiny and in cases where the Vigilance Officer notices ‘extra-ordinary’ changes, the same will be forwarded to the Income Tax, Chief Vigilance Commissioner and the like for further detailed scrutiny and action.

· All Vigilance Officers to send report to CVC including conclusion of further enquiry by Income Tax and other agencies.

· Annual property returns of all AIS officers should be put in the public domain – posted on the web site.

In this context, the present decision of the Central Government is a positive step in the right direction. Just as Association for Democratic Rights (ADR) is now analyzing the affidavits filed by the contesting candidates and the property returns of the Ministers and the Prime Minister and publishing the results of the same, it is expected that similar scrutiny would be undertaken by civil society groups in case of bureaucrats. It is expected that scrutiny and analysis of Property Returns of bureaucrats will slowly but surely usher in greater transparency and accountability and officers would have to account for all their assets. This is likely to be an important systemic change in the country’s fight against corruption, especially corruption at high places.





Indian Express: Monday, 09th January, 2012

Officers have to file moveable assets too

Shyamlal Yadav Posted: Mon Jan 09 2012, 03:23 hrs New Delhi:

Indian National Congress, RTI query

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-8-yrs-cong-income-up-by-seven-times/837785/0

In 8 yrs, Cong income up by seven times

Gopu Mohan Tags : Indian National Congress, RTI query, financial health, V Gopalakrishnan, income tax documents Posted: Sat Aug 27 2011, 01:13 hrs Chennai:

What can power do to a political party’s financial health? Quite a lot, it seems. An RTI query by a Chennai-based activist shows that the income of India’s longest-ruling national party, the Indian National Congress, increased from Rs 69.55 crore in 2002-03 to a whopping Rs 467.57 crore in 2010-11.


Documents accessed by activist V Gopalakrishnan show that the jump is even more evident when figures from 2003-04 are compared with the next financial year, 2004-05 — the period when the UPA-I assumed power at the Centre.


The Congress’s income during this period grew from Rs 61.49 crore to Rs 153.03 crore, a 150 per cent growth in just one year. Again, from Rs 220.82 crore in 2008-09, its total income rose to 496.87 crore in 2009-10 — more than double — a period during which it fought and won a second general election.


The voluminous income tax documents show that in the last financial year, the party received Rs 95.90 crore as donations and Rs 326.71 crore as collection from sale of coupons, besides money received as rent, interest on deposits, membership fees and application fees.

The list of donors include a number of infrastructure firms, including those involved in construction, power generation, cement, telecommunications, chemicals, engineering, coal, vehicle manufacturing and at least one media holding company. Sterlite Industries, belonging to Vedanta Group, whose project is facing problems in Orissa, is also among the donors.

The list also includes individual donors, starting from party president Sonia Gandhi (who donated Rs 79,068 by way of two cheques of UCO Bank, New Delhi); and including Sachin Pilot (Rs 60,000); K Rahman Khan (Rs 24,000); M S Gill (Rs 32,000), Oscar Fernandes (Rs 23,000); Prithviraj Chavan (Rs 24,000); and S M Krishna (Rs 38,500) among others.


Curiously, there are big ticket donations by electoral trusts, the addresses of which indicate that these belong to Indian industry behemoths.

Incidentally, one of the donors, an NRI businessman named Sunny Varkey, received Padma Shri award in 2009, a year after he had contributed Rs 1 crore through a bank in Bangalore.

congress has given interest free loan to the associated journals ltd is the holding company that publishes national herald, congress' mouthpiece. (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-10-21/lucknow/27195240_1_interim-order-writ-petition-interim-payment) Rs.5.72 crore in the year 2002-2003

EC warns candidates understating property

EC warns candidates understating property
31 march indian express
Chennai: Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Kumar on Wednesday said action would be initiated against candidates who understated the value of their property, after the polls. He was reacting after a petition was filed by RTI activist V opalakrishnan seeking disqualification of DMK's Virugambakam candidate Dhanasekhar for filing an affidavit which understated properties brought under his wife Vijayakumari's name in Ilayankudi in Sivaganga. He said similarly other properties purchased by the couple were also understated and if this continued, it would set a precedent among candidates to file land value less than the guideline value. When Express contacted Dhanasekhar, he said he would consult his lawyer in this regard ENS

Hazare bug bites city, two RTI activists on fast

Hazare bug bites city, two RTI activists on fast

Express News ServiceFirst Published : 08 Apr 2011 01:59:01 AM ISTLast Updated : 08 Apr 2011 08:18:55 AM IST

CHENNAI: Two Right to Information activists in the city have launched an indefinite hunger strike here, marking the first formal support from Tamil Nadu for anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. Hazare (72) who is on a fast-unto-death in Delhi demanding the enactment of the Jan Lokpal Bill.


C Selvaraj and V Gopalakrishnan volunteered to fast to build up momentum for the bill in the State, which is yet to evoke a response on a par with the rest of India. “Enactment of the bill is the only constitutional weapon to book tainted senior bureaucrats without any official hurdles,” Selvaraj told Express. Attributing large-scale corruption to top level bureaucrats, he said, “At present, the Governor’s permission is a must to act against any corrupt civil servant holding high post.”

Selvaraj and Gopalakrishnan have the support of several civil right activists. Since Thursday evening, many of them gathered at the Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya School in T Nagar and expressed their solidarity by holding lighted candles. School students, on their part, prayed for the well-being of Hazare.

Addressing reporters at the event, former chief electoral officer Naresh Gupta stressed that public servants must be free from corruption. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said, “People from across the board -- from politicians to civil servants to businessmen -- must be honest.”

Brushing aside questions on the technicalities in appointing the chairman for the Lokpal Committee, Gupta stated that the Administrative Reforms Commission has supported the bill. He also stated that the bill was based on the functions of Ombudsman, instituted in Sweden in 1809.

On whether he would join the fast, Gupta said he has not decided yet. Meanwhile, the organisers expressed the hope that more people would throng the venue of fast on Friday.