A govt order quietly relaxes Lokpal norms; gives bureaucrats more time to declare assets in new format

THE government quietly relaxed norms of the much talked about Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 by issuing an executive order on February 15, 2014, as it found it extremely difficult to adhere to some of the deadlines inscribed in the new law itself. Though the government officers, according to the new law, had to furnish information on their assets and liabilities by February 15, (i.e. within 30 days from the date of coming into force of the Act), the government probably realized it was impossible to implement, and hence took the easy route of…

Govt may soon ask bureaucrats to disclose assets in public

ON ITS guidance for 2011, BoI (babusofindia.com) wrote on December 31 that sooner or later, Indian bureaucrats may have to place the movable and immovable assets in public domain in the same way as Indian politicians currently do. The government has reportedly decided to go ahead with a proposal to make it mandatory for Indian civil servants to put details of their assets in government website, according to media reports. The decision is likely to be conveyed by cabinet secretary to secretaries in a meeting convened in New Delhi on March 8, 2011.

Such a decision has been in the pipeline for almost two years now, but many high-ranking bureaucrats opposed to such a move earlier. Their main contention is that if they put their asset details in public domains, their privacy would be intruded upon.

But with the government facing a series of scams and NDA-run Bihar forcing bureaucrats declare assets compulsorily, the Central government does not want to delay the move any further, according to sources.

Already, asset details of about 1000 bureaucrats, mostly IAS and IPS, are kept web-ready, according to a report.

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Cameron calls bureaucrats Enemies of Enterprise

British Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to tackle those bureaucrats in government departments who are making “life impossible for small firms.” Cameron’s anti-bureaucracy public comment came at the Conservative Party’s spring conference in Cardiff recently. “I can announce that we are taking on the enemies of enterprise. The bureaucrats in government departments who concoct those ridiculous rules and regulations that make life impossible for small firms,” said British Premier.