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J&K chief secy directs departments to identify measures to check corruption
B V R Subrahmanayam’s directions have come amid widespread allegations of rampant corruption in various departments.
J&K chief secretary B V R Subrahmanyam on Monday directed the secretaries of various administration departments to rein in corruption in the Union territory and show zero tolerance towards violation of rules.
Subrahmanayam’s directions at a meeting here come close on the heels of widespread allegations of corruption rampant in various departments amid Covid-19 pandemic.
All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference and block development council chairperson Shafiq Mir had appealed L-G GC Murmu to check corruption a few days ago.
Mir had also said that funds being spent for Covid-19 mitigation efforts needed a detailed audit. He had termed it a big scam.
Chairing a meeting here to review the measures to check malpractice, the chief secretary, while naming a few departments figuring as highly vulnerable to corruption, urged the secretaries to promote transparency and accountability, follow model practices and carry out systemic reforms in the governance system.
He asked the secretaries to suggest measures to check corruption in their departments within a week.
Reiterating the resolve of zero tolerance towards non-adherence to rules, the chief secretary asked the officers to additionally address the procedural side of corruption which surfaces due to lack of codification of rules, and scarce technological interventions at field offices paired with dearth of human resource development programmes for capacity building of government employees.
In the past, Jammu and Kashmir had been rated one of the most corrupt states in India in a survey by an NGO ‘Transparency International’.
