The government of Rajasthan is stepping up its fight against corruption and has taken severe action against several hundred public officials who have been charged with wrongdoing, corruption and negligence. In accordance with its zero tolerance stance, the government administration has sacked 20 officials, suspended 332 officials and halted the pension of 17 retired officials.
The crackdown stems from the leadership of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma who has been stressing the issues of transparency, accountability and efficient public service. The government is committed to “not allowing the misuse of public offices for personal gain or dereliction of duty,” an official statement said.
Some of the senior officials who were fired include a member of the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) and officials from various departments such as health, education, mining and public works. More than 100 corruption-related prosecutions, which would enable lawsuits to be filed against the accused officials, have also been sanctioned by authorities.
The campaign doesn’t stop at providing food for employees. The government has denied full pension benefits in a few instances where it had discovered misconduct by retired employees. The move is indicative of new accountability measures that will remain in place once he’s out of the game.
Investigations are ongoing in 577 more cases and more disciplinary action will be forthcoming in the coming months, officials said. The government considers that the measures will help to enhance public confidence, raise the quality of governance and that there will be a clear statement that corruption and negligence will not be tolerated in government.