Jharkhand makes asset declaration mandatory for officials

All Jharkhand state government officials and employees in Jharkhand have been asked to declare their assets every three years or face a year's imprisonment, a press statement from Ranchi said Tuesday.

"Jharkhand Governor M O H Farook has passed an order under which all the state government employees will have to declare their assets every three years till retirement. If any employee fails to declare assets then he or she will be liable for punishment of one year in jail," the statement said.

"The newly-appointed employees will have to declare their assets within three months of appointment," it added.

The new circular, applicable to all state government employees except fourth grade employees, will cover around 60,000 employees, including over 1,200 officers.

Earlier, only IAS and IPS officials had to declare their assets every year but their declaration of assets was not monitored. More than 80 per cent of IAS and IPS officials did not declare their assets for two to three years. nder the new circular, it is mandatory for all employees to declare their assets.

The decision was apparently taken to curb corruption in government departments. Several scams have hit Jharkhand since its creation in 2000, with several officials, including a couple of IAS officers, and employees being booked under corruption charges.