LUCKNOW: After jumping the deadline four times, senior IAS officers of Yogi Adityanath government have been given one last chance to declare their assets till May 3 failing which they have been warned of action.
It is believed that over 120 IAS officers figure in the list of defaulters who failed to furnish details of their assets till April 25, the last deadline. CM Yogi Adityanath, soon after taking oath of office on March 19, had directed all his ministers and bureaucrats to furnish details of their movable and immovable properties within 15 days. The first deadline was April 6 which was extended to April 15 but with little compliance. However, most of the ministers declared their assets till April 18, the day Yogi government completed a month in office. The next cutoff date fixed was April 25, but after no compliance from the babus, it was extended till May 3.
Consequently, the chief secretary in a renewed office circular issued recently directed all the defaulters including principal secretaries, secretaries, special secretaries to furnish their details and also impress upon the officers working under them to comply with the order before the deadline.
A government Order, dated April 25, 2017, directed all the principal secretaries and secretaries to treat May 3 as the last chance to declare their assets. The State personnel department, however, cautioned the officers against non-compliance which, it said, would attract strict action. According to sources, principal secretary, personnel reportedly conveyed to the officers that any slackness after May 3 would be treated adversely.
As per the service rules, the IAS officers are supposed to declare their assets annually but they have hardly followed the norm during the last several years. According to highly placed sources, till now only four of 84 departments –agriculture, agriculture marketing, secretariat administration and civil defence – have complied with the government order partially. The rest have faltered on one pretext or the other.
Moreover, the new dispensation had issued a format to the officers on March 21seeking details of their shares, bank deposits, inherited or property bought and other investments.