:: Dilip Cherian

Not just a pebble

By Dilip Cherian

Jul 19 : Wily netas can be made to declare details of their assets at election time, so why not my favourite tribesmen at promotion time? Even as the Central Information Commission (CIC) is after judges to get them to declare their assets, a lawyer in Punjab has turned the Right to Information (RTI) heat on Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the state. But the lawyer’s query, filed under the RTI Act, has got the state personnel department all worked up.

The application only seeks to know at the start whether IAS and IPS officers are required to submit their statement of assets periodically to the government. If, yes, the applicant has sought the tax return statements submitted by babus initially at the time of joining service. So far the department has refused to share details of the assets owned by babus, although it admitted that babus submit a statement of assets every year. Will tax records match these, or will both be works of artifice is the question.

According to sources, the lawyer has now gone a step further and filed an application with the first appellate authority of the personnel department, which has sent a letter to the secretary, department of information and technology, seeking advice on the appeal. Meanwhile, other advocates are also of the opinion that IAS and IPS officers cannot continue withholding details of their assets as this information is not strictly personal. Who’ll prevail, is what we and my favourite tribesmen would really like to know.

Now we know why there are serious attempts by babus to get the RTI diluted. The unholy alliance of babus, judges and politicians could prove too mighty for the masses to resist.

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At a snail’s pace

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s attempt to probe corruption charges in the previous Bharatiya Janata Party regime has, predictably, run into the typical bureaucratic obduracy. State chief secretary Indrajeet Khanna and retired IPS officer H.N. Meena, two members of the Mathur Commission leading the probe, have reportedly alleged that the enquiry is moving at a very slow pace owing to the indifferent attitude of senior babus.

The Mathur Commission was set up to look into more than 5,000 land-related cases of alleged corruption during Vasundhara Raje’s tenure. It sent questionnaires based on its investigations to seven government departments, including the Jaipur Development Authority. But reportedly babus are either distorting information or not giving it at all.

Meanwhile, people are wondering whether the commission will ever manage to complete its mandate? Clearly, few expect any tangible outcome of this entire exercise, more so the recalcitrant babus who are probably lying low and waiting for the fuss to die down. Would you agree, dear reader?