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'Take action against corrupt officials'

BHUBANESWAR: Chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Sunday asked the district collectors to take exemplary punitive action against anyone found indulging in corrupt activities while implementing the government welfare schemes at the grass-roots level.

Taking forward chief minister Naveen Patnaik's directive to the district collectors on June 9 to end corruption at the block level, Padhi wrote letters to them in a bid to check such practices and ensure the severest possible punishment, including departmental proceedings and criminal prosecutions against the erring officials or middlemen. "Timely and exemplary punitive action would serve as a deterrent to corrupt officials," he wrote.

Padhi's letter, a copy of which is with TOI, specifically asks the district administrations to ensure zero corruption in the execution of rural housing schemes, which includes Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Grameen), Indira Awaas Yojana, Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana and Nirman Shramik Pucca Ghar Yojana.

Apart from punitive action, the top bureaucrat asked the collectors to display a list of housing beneficiaries at prominent places, distribute work orders on campaign mode in public meetings and register and geo-tag all beneficiaries to ensure transparency.

Calling upon the collectors to personally monitor the implementation of the schemes, Padhi wrote that the government will judge their ability to check corruption. "Your performance in ensuring that no corrupt practice is adopted during selection of beneficiaries and release of payments to the eligible beneficiaries will be specifically judged by the government," he wrote.

"Success in rural housing and sincere efforts put in by many officers is marred by a few occurrences of corrupt practices by some officials/non-officials," he added.

In the last three financial years, 11.5 lakh people living in kuchha houses in the state were provided pucca houses, which is a landmark achievement. The state government has also published the list of eligible households, who are entitled to get such houses. The government has received around one lakh objections for excluding the ineligible persons. The chief secretary asked the collectors to enquire into the complaints and publish the revised list by July 20.

The response of collectors to the government move was a mixed one. "It will usher in a new era of clean governance," said a collector. Another, however, said it's difficult for the administration to do so when those who indulge in corruption are political workers.

The chief secretary's anti-corruption plank comes close on the heels of Naveen, at a conference of collectors, asking them to stop the the system of collecting percentage (fixed share as bribe) from contractors while awarding government works.