Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 24: Shocking it may sound but it is a fact that lakhs of Government employees in Jammu and Kashmir have not been filing their annual returns of assets, which otherwise is a mandatory exercise aimed at checking amassing of assets disproportionate to the known source of income. Interestingly, those who are required to ensure submission of such details are not bothered to fulfill their legal duty.
According to the official figures, there are more than 4.5 lakh Government employees in Jammu and Kashmir and majority of them are non-IAS/IPS/IFS and non-KAS cadre. Among the employees, who do not fall in the category of All India Services and Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service, majority belong to Non-Gazetted group.
The officers of the status of Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Administrative Services (IAS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) are governed by All India Services Conduct Rules while as all the employees of State are governed by Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees (Conduct) Rules, 1971.
Both these Rules make it mandatory for the employees to submit returns of their assets and liabilities every year on the prescribed dates to the respective controlling authorities. In case of All India Service officers, the property statements are required to be submitted to Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) of Government of India while as State Government employees are required to submit such details either to the General Administration Department or their respective departments annually.
All India Services officers were earlier required to submit annual statements of assets and liabilities by January 31 every year but as per the latest directions of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), they are now required to submit details by March 31. Under new directions, they are supposed to furnish much more details in comparison to past practice.
In case of non-gazetted employees, whose number is much more than gazetted ranking employees in Jammu and Kashmir, the concerned Head of the Department is required to ensure compliance of J&K Government Employees Conduct Rules, 1971 while as in case of gazetted officers the compliance has to be ensured by the concerned Administrative Secretary.
“Though all the KAS and majority of non-KAS Gazetted officers are annually submitting returns containing details of movable, immovable and valuable property, the compliance from the Non-Gazetted employees is almost zero”, sources told EXCELSIOR. This is mainly because of non-seriousness at the level of those who are required to ensure that each and every employee under their control furnishes such mandatory details.
“The prevailing situation is notwithstanding the fact that such an annual return is very imperative to keep check on possession of assets through illegal means and disproportionate to the known source of income”, sources said.
Unlike officers of All India Services and J&K Administrative Services, these employees are even given promotions without submission of annual returns of assets, they further informed. “Ideally non-submission of such details should invite action from the head of the concerned department or concerned Administrative Secretary but this aspect is being completely ignored thereby leaving enough space for the employees to amass assets through illegal means”, sources added.
It is pertinent to mention here that numerous employees have been booked by the State Vigilance Organization during the past some years for possessing assets disproportionate to known source of income and had the provisions of J&K Government Employees Conduct Rules been strictly implemented accumulation of wealth through unknown sources would have been checked at the very initial stage.
In the absence of annual property returns, the possibility of large number of employees of those departments, which are known for corrupt practices, possessing disproportionate assets but remaining out of the glare of the State Vigilance Organization cannot be ruled out, sources said. Had this mandatory practice been implemented in accordance with the laid down guidelines corrupt practices, which lead to accumulation of wealth illegally, could have been checked up to large extent.
Worthwhile to mention here that Governor N N Vohra, while reviewing the functioning of State Vigilance Organization recently, had laid thrust on immediate review of property statements of immovable assets of the Government employees and subsequent action against those who are not ensuring compliance of the provisions.
But his direction can only be implemented in the context of officers of All India Services and J&K Administrative Services besides some section of other employee in the absence of annual property returns of lakhs of employees, sources said.
J&K Government Employees Conduct Rules clearly states: Every Government employee shall submit a return of his/her assets and liabilities giving the full particulars regarding the immovable property inherited by him/her either in his/her own name or in the name of any member of family or in the name of any other person and details of shares, debentures, cash including bank deposits etc.
Every Government employee shall report to the prescribed authority every transaction in respect of movable property, the Rules said, adding the property returns should be submitted within a month of his/her first appointment and subsequently by January 15 every year in respect of the property held at the end of the previous year to the prescribed authority in this behalf.
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